1  "1 


AN  AMERICAN  CAREER  AND  ITS  TRIUMPH. 


THE 

LIFE  AND  PUBLIC  SERVICES 


OF 


JAMES    G.    ELAINE, 


WITH  THE  STORY  OF 

JOHN  A.  LOGAN'S  CAREER; 

TOGETHER  WITH 

THE  LIVES  OF  ALL  THE  PRESIDENTS  AND  WOMEN  OF  THE  WHITE  HOUSE  ;  A  FULL  ACCOUNT 
OF  THE  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE   NATIONAL   REPUBLICAN  CONVENTION  :   A  CLEAR  EX 
PLANATION  OF  THE  PROTECTIVE  TARIFF  AND  FKEE  TRADE  |   A  COMPLETE 
HISTORY   OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY  WITH  THEIR  PLATFORMS 
AND  QUESTIONS  AT  ISSUE,  AND  TABULARY  AND  STATIS 
TICAL  MATTER  OF  INESTIMABLE  VALUE. 

/      BV 
WILLIAM  RALSTON  BALCH  : 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  LIFE  OF  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD,"  "GARFIELD'S  WORDS,"  "THE  MINES,  MIXERS 

AND  MINING  INTERESTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,"  "THE  RED  MEN  OF  AMERICA,"  "THE 

PEOPLE'S  DICTIONARY  AND  EVERY-DAY  ENCYCLOPAEDIA,"  "A  MESSAGE  FROM 

THE  SEA,"  "THE  BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


PROFUSELY  ILLUSTRATED. 


PHILADELPHIA : 
JOHN  E.  POTTER  AND  COMPANY, 


Copyright,  1884,  by 
WILLIAM  RALSTON  BALCH. 


TO 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES: 

A  PARTY  WHOSE  NAME  IS  SYNONYMOUS  WITH  MUCH  THAT 

IS  SUPERBLY  CREDITABLE  TO  THE  HISTORY 

OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

THIS  VOLUME  IS  INSCRIBED, 

IN  THE  HOPE  THAT  THE  CAREER  OF  OUR  STANDARD-BEARER 

SHALL  IN  ITS  MANY  LESSONS  LIGHT  THE  WAY 

TO  SPLENDID  VICTORY. 


PREFACE. 


THE  Campaign  which  will  distinguish  the  summer  of  1884 
will  be  one  that  will  long  live  in  the  history  of  the 
United  States.     The  Republican  Convention  at  Chicago  gave 
expression  to  the  wishes  of  the  American  people  that  the  real 
leader  of  the  Republican  party  should  be  its  actual  head. 

James  Gillespie  Elaine,  in  his  name,  means  a  Campaign  that 
will  be  very  memorable  and  illustrious.  It  will  be  a  Campaign 
of  living  issues  with  live  men  as  leaders — there  will  be  no 
searching  in  the  graves  of  the  dead  for  light.  James  G.  Elaine 
has  not  a  wasted  fibre  in  his  body ;  he  is  a  man  abreast  of  the 
times  and  aflame  with  the  spirit  of  the  age.  The  American 
people  believe  in  him  as  a  man  of  the  most  alert  intelligence 
and  the  best  political  equipment  in  this  country,  versed  in  the 
country's  history  and  familiar  with  all  its  political  problems. 
The  American  people  believe  in  him  as  a  man  of  warm  heart 
whose  sympathies  are  confined  to  no  class,  are  crippled  by  no 
sectional  lines.  They  believe  in  him  as  a  man  who  under 
stands  their  needs  and  will  meet  every  situation  victoriously. 
They  believe  in  him  as  a  man  who  appreciates  the  economic 
issues  of  the  hour;  who  is  devoted  to  the  rigid  maintenance  of 
the  good  faith  of  the  Republic,  and  who  will  defend  the  inter 
ests  of  American  industry  against  all  attacks  whatsoever.  In 
short  the  nation  knows  that  in  nominating  James  Gillespie 

(5) 


O  PREFACE. 

Blaine  it  has  nominated  the  greatest  representative  of  the 
greatest  Republic  on  the  earth. 

He  enters  upon  the  campaign  the  candidate  of  the  whole 
party,  a  man  who  believes  earnestly  in  the  issues  that  the 
Republican  party  has  raised  and  maintained  in  this  country 
since  1856.  The  party  finds  in  their  candidate  the  clearest 
and  most  forcible  expression  of  what  the  Republican  party  has 
done  and  what  it  hopes  to  do;  and  what,  under  his  leadership,  it 
surely  will  do  in  the  future.  Mr.  Blaine  stands  for  the  best 
type  of  American  progress. 

That  section  of  the  people  who  do  not  choose  to  indorse 
him,  and  who  do  not  propose  to  vote  for  him,  represents  only 
opposition  to  the  American  idea.  They  stand  also  for  the 
dogma  of  free  trade  and  foreign  ascendency ;  they  do  not  be 
lieve  that  the  United  States  should  take  the  position  that  its 
greatness  and  wealth  and  power  entitle  it  to ;  they  do  not  be 
lieve  that  the  American  people  should  have  any  protection 
from  the  American  government  they  have  bled  to  maintain ; 
they  do  not  believe  that  the  United  States  is  a  nation;  in  short 
they  do  not  believe  in  the  very  flag  whose  white  stars  should 
fill  them  with  inexcusable  enthusiasm,  to  ever  defend  it  not 
merely  in  the  hurrahs  of  the  crowd,  but  in  the  strong  measures 
that  make  assertions  of  value. 

The  very  name  of  the  candidate  is  an  inspiration  to  the 
voter.  That  name  carries  with  it  great  political  fame  to  animate 
the  heart,  as  is  animated  the  heart  of  the  soldier  when  led  by 
the  battle-scarred  hero  of  an  hundred  fights.  Frankness, 
sagacity,  readiness  and  courage  arc  James  G.  Blaine's  weapons. 
An  unstained  private  life  clothes  him  in  a  coat  of  mail — a 
record  of  a  life  filled  with  glorious  achievements  is  his  strong 
buckler.  Who  would  not  gladly  fight  under  such  a  general? 

James  G.  Blaine  is  a  man  of  destiny,  a  master  spirit  among 


PREFACE.  7 

his  peers,  the  foremost  heart  of  the  times ;  and  with  such  a 
leader  the  campaign  will  be  one  of  the  most  profound  and 
enduring  enthusiasm. 

There  was  no  more  brilliant  soldier  in  the  war  in  the  earnest 
ness  of  his  fighting  and  the  honesty  of  his  patriotism  than 
John  Alexander  Logan,  and  since  the  truce  of  Appomattox 
there  has  been  no  more  true  and  thoroughly  staunch  advocate 
of  Republican  principles  in  peace  than  the  gentleman  whose 
name  completes  the  national  ticket  of  1884. 

Gen.  Logan  is  so  thoroughly  identified  with  great  victories 
of  armies,  of  reconstruction  and  rehabilitation,  and  he  is  so 
positive  a  character  and  so  forceful,  so  incorruptible  in  his 
personal  and  public  character  and  services,  that  there  is  not  the 
least  disparagement  when  the  candidate  for  the  Vice-President 
is  contrasted  with  the  brilliant  and  aggressive  statesman  who 
heads  the  column.  The  present  Presidential  campaign  is  a 
re-arising  of  the  American  people. 

The  Republican  party  faces  a  great  question  that  means  the 
preservation  or  destruction  of  the  American  idea,  the  deter 
mination  that  the  Republic  shall  live,  and  that  its  march  of 
progress  shall  not  be  impeded  by  so  much  even  as  one  great 
disaster ! 


CONTENTS. 


PREFACE 5 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  ancestr^pf  James  G.  Elaine — A  grandfather  who  can  be  mentioned 
without  an  apology — The  Blaines  in  the  Revolutionary  War — A  coun 
try  squire 13 

CHAPTER  II. 
Elaine's  boyhood  and  early  days — A  college  career — Facing  a  society — 

Commencement  exercises — The  character  of  the  youth 24 

CHAPTER  III. 
Boyhood  and  early  days — How  a  President's  career  begins — The  struggles 

of  youth 39 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Elaine  as  a  journalist — The  man  at  last  finds  his  first  mission — An  anti-slavery 
apostle — Fighting  the  enemy — Thunderbolts  of  ink — A  change  of  base 
to  Portland 51 

CHAPTER  V. 

Into  politics — Delegate  to  the  Convention  of  1856 — His  first  speech — Mem 
ber  of  the  Maine  Legislature — Speaker  of  the  Maine  House — A  ratifi 
cation  meeting 72 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Elaine  in  Congress — A  new  force  on  the  floor  of  the  House — The  man  from 
Maine  begins  his  record — Elected  to  the  Speaker's  chair — Another 
graduation,  this  time  to  the  Senate — A  marvellous  history  of  activity. .  78 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Mr.  Elaine  in  the  Senate — A  new  leaf  turned  in  the  great  book — In  the 

(9) 


IO  CONTENTS. 

chair  of  Webster — Mr.  Blaine  as  a  debater — The  junior  Senator  at  the 
front IOO 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

A  Cabinet  officer — The  Premier  of  the  new  Administration — The  greatest 
influence — Elaine's  foreign  policy — His  oration  on  Garfield  and  resigna- 
^      lion I2O 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Blaine  as  a  politician — His  speeches  on  the  stump — Orations  during  the 
campaigns — Discussing  living  issues — Leading  the  voting  hosts  of 
Republicans 161 

CHAPTER  X. 

Blaine  as  a  historian — His  ability  with  the  pen — His  summary  of  the 
American  conflict — The  character  of  Buchanan — The  negro — Pen-por 
traits  of  Stanton  and  Sherman 1 S2 

CHAPTER  XL 
Selecting  a  President — The  Chicago  Convention — How  the  choice  came  to 

be  made 207 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  second  day — Details  and  incidents  of  Tuesday — Resolutions  and  bun 
combe — Manoeuvring  for  position — The  permanent  chairman 245 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  third  day — Nominations — Speaking  for  the  favorites — The  platform — 

Great  enthusiasm — The  roars  of  the  galleries 258 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
The  fourth  day  and  the  end — Beginning  to  ballot — The  attempt  to  stay  the 

torrent — Blaine  the  winner — A  night  session  and  Logan 305. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Blaine  at  home — Receiving  the  news  of 'his  nomination — His  residence  at 
Augusta — Congratulations  of  the  townspeople — An  affecting  scene — 
\Vhat  hisjTcj^ilcJliink  of  him 330 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

iVn  sketch  of  J.  ().  I 'thine — Hjs  peculiarities— Some  points  in  Ins  career — 
His  rcHgious  jjrocliyjlV* — .\Vliat_is_thought  of  him  in"\Va!»lilnffTm — His 
manner 346 


CONTENTS.  1 1 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

What  of  the  future  ? — Elaine  as  a  statesman — His  pojicj^Ajgformer — Dis- 

tributing  thejji]^iluSr^A_j)r£ilixik>n 359 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Presidents — The  men  who  have  occupied  the  White  House — George 
Washington — "Old  Hickory" — Martin  Van  Buren — Garfield  and 
Arthur 368 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
The  women  of  the  White  House— Wives  of  our  Presidents — A  hostess  of 

the  Executive  Mansion 398 

CHAPTER  XX. 

The  White  House — Where  the  President  lives — Something  about  the  Ex 
ecutive  Mansion 425 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

John  Alexander  Logan — His  birth  and  parentage — How  the  boy  began  his 
career — Fiery  instincts  at  school — The  war  with  Mexico — Home  from 
the  fight 438 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
Civil  honors — Minister  to  Mexico — Again  in  Congress — Attacking  Andy 

Johnson — Defending  his  old  commander — Cuba  and  the  Cubans 446 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  war  with  the  South — Logan's  patriotism — From  the  halls  of  Congress 
to  Bull  Run — At  the  front — In  command  of  a  regiment — Atlanta  to  the 
sea 474 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
John  A.  Logan  at  home — Mrs.  Logan  and  her  cares — The  work  she  does 

for  her  husband — A  true  helpmeet — Justice  to  correspondents 490 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
The  great  issue  of  the  campaign — The  tariff— What  it  means  to  the  masses..  500 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
Electing  a  President — The  electoral  college — Party  principles  in  the  past.. .  524 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PORTRAIT.     JAMES  G.  ELAINE Steel  Engraving. 

BIRTH-PLACE  OF  JAMES  G.  ELAINE 21 

COLLEGE  WHERE  JAMES  G.  ELAINE  WAS  EDUCATED 27 

PHILADELPHIA  BLIND  ASYLUM 47 

PARENTS'  BURIAL- HLACE 55 

BUILDING  WHERE  I.LAINE  WAS  EMPLOYED  WHILE  A  JOURNALIST 61 

BLAINE  AT  THE  AGE  OF  35 79 

BLAINE  EULOGIZING  GARFIELD 135 

LINCOLN  AND  EDMUNDS 209 

SCENES  AT  HOTELS  DURING  CONVENTION 215 

LYNCH  AND  HENDERSON 225 

CONVENTION  ASSEMBLED 259 

RESIDENCE  IN  AUGUSTA 331 

RESIDENCE  IN  WASHINGTON 354 

RUTHERFORD  E.  HAYES  AND  OTHER  PRESIDENTS 373 

JAMES  A.  GARFIELD            "         "               "          377 

CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR          "         "               "          393 

MRS.  WASHINGTON 399 

MRS.  LINCOLN 411 

MRS.  GRANT 415 

MRS.  GARFIELD 419 

THE  WHITE  HOUSE 423 

JOHN  A.  LOGAN.     Steel  Engraving 439 

BATTLE  OF  CORINTH 479 

BATTLE  OF  PEACH-TREE  CREEK 483 

MRS.  JOHN  A.  LOGAN 497 

MAP  SHOWING  POLITICAL  COMPLEXION  OF  DIFFERENT  STATES 

f") 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  ANCESTRY  OF  JAMES  G.  ELAINE— A  GRANDFATHER  WHO  CAN  BE 
MENTIONED  WITHOUT  AN  APOLOGY — THE  BLAINES  IN  THE  REVOLUTION 
ARY  WAR — A  COUNTRY  SQUIRE. 

IT  is  the  fashion  in  this  country  of  rapid  changes  and  per 
sonal  restlessness  to  identify  a  man  with  the  home  of  his 
adoption  rather  than  with  that  of  his  birthplace.  So  by  com 
mon  consent  it  has  come  to  be  that  James  Gillespie  Elaine  is 
always  credited  to  the  State  of  Maine.  Those  who  live,  rise, 
flourish  and  die  in  the  village  of  their  nativity  are  very  rare 
among  the  public  men  of  the  United  States.  They  can  be 
found  generally  among  the  rural  populations  of  the  older 
States.  Even  among  these  there  is  an  incessant  drumming 
and  movement  like  the  swarming  of  bees  from  the  parent  hive 
which  loses  its  workers  every  season,  as  they  wander  off  to 
new  scenes,  find  new  homes  and  surroundings  in  some  more 
favored  portion  of  the  land.  So  it  often  is  that  an  American 
becomes  a  part  and  parcel  of  that  place  where  he  grows  to 
middle  age,  and  from  where  his  fame  spreads  to  the  outer 
world.  Among  the  Argonauts  of  '49  there  was  not  one  pos 
sibly,  that  was  born  upon  the  gold-covered  soil  of  California. 
In  that  wild  and  pushing  band  every  man  brought  to  the 
enterprise  the  steadiness  and  peculiar  characteristics  of  the 
far-away  States. 

It  is  in  accordance  to  this  rule  of  a  new  country  that  the 

03) 


14  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

coming  Republican  President  is  always  spoken  of  as  Elaine, 
of  Maine,  when  he  should  be  denominated  as  a  Elaine,  of  Penn 
sylvania;  not  only  so  because  he  himself  was  born  in  the 
Keystone  State,  but  because  his  ancestors  for  generations 
back  have  lived  and  flourished  upon  the  soil  of  William  Penn. 
If  ever  there  was  a  man  that  came  from  true  American  stock, 
that  man  is  James  Gillespie  Elaine. 

His  genealogical  tree  is  of  older  growth  than  many  a 
British  peer,  and  he  can  not  only  refer  to  his  grandfather  with 
out  an  apology,  but  can  point  to  a  great-grandfather  who 
occupied  no  insignificant  position  in  the  early  American  his 
tory;  to  whose  ability  and  energy  no  little  of  the  success 
achieved  by  Washington  is  due. 

Among  the  most  esteemed  friends  of  General  Washington, 
and  as  intimate  as  that  old  aristocrat  ever  allowed  a  friend  to 
be,  was  Colonel  Ephraim  Elaine,  a  gentleman  who  possessed  all 
the  revolutionary  instincts,  manners  and  courtesies,  that  so 
strongly  placed  in  contrast  the  men  of  '76  as  against  their 
surroundings.  In  our  time  the  type  of  these  men  has  almost 
disappeared.  It  frowns  on  us  from  walls  of  ancestral  houses 
often,  it  seldom  meets  us  in  the  walks  of  life ;  the  picture- 
frames  contain  all  the  dignified  gentlemen  with  big  noses, 
high-laced  collars,  and  powdered  perukes,  gazing  upon  us  friv 
olous  mortals  of  1884  with  something  of  disdain !  Such  a  one 
was  Colonel  Ephraim  Elaine,  and  when  the  inspiriting  War  of 
Independence  burst  its  clouds,  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  join 
the  forces  of  the  fatherless  country. 

This  Colonel  Ephraim  Elaine  came  of  Scotch-Irish  descent, 
and  was  doubtless  one  of  the  earlier  ones  to  follow  \Villiam 
Penn  on  his  voyage  across  the  seas.  He  could  have  no  better 
stock  than  this.  The  Scotch-Irish  race  has  been  remarkable 
for  the  qualities  of  mind  which  win  the  regard  and  admiration 

x 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  1 5 

of  mankind.  Courage,  quickness  and  brilliancy  of  intellect, 
which  flashes  into  dark  places  like  a  wave  of  electric  light,  are 
common  to  great  Scotch-Irishmen.  In  Colonel  Ephraim  Elaine 
these  qualities  came  at  once  to  the  surface  in  defence  of  the 
country  in  the  hour  of  her  first  marked  peril. 

During  the  war  of  independence  Colonel  Blaine  was  ever  at 
Washington's  elbow,  in  the  sense  of  furnishing  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  with  the  sinews  of  the  campaign,  as  he  held 
the  position  of  Commissionary  General  of  the  Revolutionary 
Army  from  1778  to  the  close  of  the  struggle  in  1783,  and 
previously  the  rank  of  a  Colonel  of  the  line.  The  Hon.  Fred 
erick  Watts,  of  Carlisle,  Pa.,  in  a  recent  sketch,  thus  speaks 
of  Colonel  Elaine's  services  as  Commissionary  General : 

"  In  this  great  field  of  patriotic  duty  Colonel  Blaine  won  a 
splendid  reputation.  Through  himself  and  immediate  friends, 
he  was  able,  at  different  times,  when  the  Continental  Treasury 
was  empty,  to  advance  large  supplies  of  money  towards  pur 
chasing  supplies  for  the  army;  and  during  the  terrible  winter 
at  Valley  Forge,  Washington  attributed  the  preservation  of 
his  troops  from  absolute  starvation  to  the  heroic  and  self- 
sacrificing  efforts  of  Colonel  Elaine.  The  high  esteem  with 
which  Colonel  Blaine  was  held  by  Washington  and  his  great 
patriotic  leaders  in  the  revolution  was  attested  by  numerous 
letters  from  them,  official  and  unofficial,  still  in  possession  of 
Colonel  Elaine's  descendants  in  this  State.  It  is  yet  one  of 
the  pleasing  local  traditions  of  Carlisle  that  in  1793,  when  the 
Whiskey  Insurrection  arose  in  the  Western  Counties,  Presi 
dent  Washington,  accompanied  by  his  Secretaries  of  the  Treas 
ury  and  War  Departments,  Hamilton  and  Knox,  on  their  way 
to  the  scene  of  the  trouble,  halted  for  many  days  at  Middle 
sex  as  the  guests  of  Colonel  Blaine,  and  while  there  heard  of 
the  dispersion  of  the  insurgents  and  returned  to  Philadelphia. 
Their  visit  was  the  occasion  of  the  most  lavish  hospitality  and 
old-fashioned  merry-making,  and  was  long  remembered  with 
pleasure  by  the  generation  of  Carlisle  residents  who  have  just 
passed  away." 


1 6  HON.   JAMES   G.    BLAINE. 

This  service  of  Colonel  Elaine's  it  is  not  easy  to  underesti 
mate.  Acts  of  this  nature,  quite  as  much  as  exploits  on  a  bat 
tle-field,  entitle  a  man's  name  to  be  chronicled  in  golden 
letters  in  the  calendar  of  cis-Atlantic  heroism.  Colonel  Elaine, 
by  his  acts,  averted  starvation  from  the  patriots'  army,  and 
supplied  the  hungry  with  bread  during  "  the  dark  winter ;  " 
bread  purchased  with  his  own  money,  and  that  obtained  from 
his  personal  friends.  No  officer  of  revolutionary  fame  was 
more  noted  for  bravery,  perseverance  and  dogged  determina 
tion  to  surmount  obstacles  however  discouraging.  < 

At  the  close  of  the  war  Colonel  Elaine  settled  at  Carlisle,  in 
the  Cumberland  Valley,  a  valley  which  has  been  the  nursery 
of  so  many  of  the  Scotch-Irish  people  of  prominence ;  and  at 
Carlisle  Ephraim  Elaine  died  in  1804. 

The  eldest  son  of  Ephraim  Elaine,  James,  was  intended 
originally  to  enter  upon  a  political  career.  As  a  preliminary 
educating  influence,  his  father  sent  him  abroad  to  complete 
his  studies  in  the  wonderful,  sterling  school  of  travel.  This, 
prolonged  into  a  residence  at  some  of  the  delightful  courts  of 
Europe,  -diverted  him  from  his  original  purpose,  as  it  has  so 
many  of  the  Americans  since,  and  he  abandoned  his  first  and 
better  ambition,  choosing  the  unexciting  but  pleasurable  life 
of  a  squire  and  country  gentleman  of  olden-time  type.  Pos 
sessed  of  ample  means,  in  fact  of  a  fortune  at  that  time  con 
sidered  princely,  James  Elaine  gratified  his  more  than  gener 
ous  impulses,  donating  largely,  even  lavishly,  to  charity,  and 
providing  for  those  within  "the  ken  of  his  hospitality  with  a 
hand  so  hospitable  as  to  almost  pass  into  a  proverb. 

In  colonial  days  his  squireship  was  begun  at  his  father's 
place,  in  Carlisle,  in  1793,  when  he  returned  from  abroad  as^, 
special  bearer  of  despatches,  bringing  with  him  a  celebrated 
treaty  with  a  foreign  government,  since  become  historic.  It 
was  at  Carlisle  that  Ephraim  Lyon  Elaine  was  born  and 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  I/ 

reared.  At  the  proper  time,  at  the  conclusion  of  such 
studies  as  a  private  tutor  could  afford,  he,  following  in 
his  father's  footsteps,  went  abroad  to  complete  his  education. 
His  tour,  which  was  entered  into  with  all  the  zest  that  youth 
ful  enthusiasm  enjoyed,  extended  not  only  to  Europe  and  its- 
great  capitals,  but  was  continued  into  South  America,  among 
its  ever-warring  republics,  and  to  the  West  Indies.  The 
death  of  his  father  was  what  caused  his  return. 

His  father  was  buried  at  Carlisle.  James  Elaine,  in  seeking 
for  investments  for  the  fortune  he  possessed,  was  attracted  to 
what  is  now  the  western  end  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  rightly  conceived  what  would  some  day  exist  a 
metropolis  of  trade.  The  increasing  value  of  this  estate  led 
to  the  necessity  of  a  more  familiar  management  of  it,  and 
decided  Ephraim  Lyon  Elaine  to  move  to  it,  and  there  reside. 
This  he  did,  in  1818,  and  settled  in  West  Brownsville,  in  the 
centre  of  a  great  and  important  tract  of  land,  of  which  he  was 
largely  the  lord ;  for  at  that  date  he  had  the  largest  landed 
possessions  of  any  man  of  his  age  in  western  Pennsylvania. 
He  owned  the  titles  to  an  estate  which,  had  it  been  preserved, 
would  to-day  have  amounted  to  many  millions  of  dollars.  As 
a  single  item  of  that  estate,  it  may  interest  the  reader  to 
recollect  that  in  1825  Mr.  Elaine  deeded  to  the  Economites  a 
tract  of  land  on  which  their  town  at  Pittsburg,  with  all  its 
improvements  and  all  its  wealth,  now  stands.  The  price  paid 
was  $25,000,  for  a  property  whose  value  to-day,  even  unim 
proved,  would  be  more  than  a  princely  fortune. 

Upon  the  Elaine  estate  there  were  large  timber  tracts  on  the 
Allegheny,  and  equally  large  tracts  on  the  Monongahela 
river,  at  that  day  of  no  special  value,  which  now  represent 
large  fortunes.  As  if  by  a  happy  accident  of  fate,  James 
G.  Elaine  is  now  possessor  of  some  of  the  valuable  coal  prop- 


1 8  HON.    JAMES    C,.    lUJUNE. 

erties  almost  adjoining  the  lands  of  his  ancestors.  In  area  it 
is  but  a  fraction  of  that  which  he  might  have  hoped  to 
inherit,  but  in  value  it  is  greater  than  the  whole  landed  estate 
of  his  father  fifty  years  ago. 

It  is  not  a  matter  of  much  interest  in  political  annals,  but 
there  are  some  living  who  remember  that  Mr.  Elaine's  father, 
no  less  than  his  grandfather,  was  especially  noted  as  a  man  of 
elegance  of  manner  and  culture.  He  was,  however,  possessed 
of  too  generous  a  heart.  Keeping  open  his  house  and 
never  counting  the  cost  of  anything,  soon  caused  a  handsome 
patrimony  to  dwindle  into  insignificance.  So  cramped  did 
this  soon  make  him  that  he  was  obliged  to  seek  office  in 
order  that  the  education  his  ambition  dictated  his  family 
should  have,  might  be  procured  within  his  means.  He  was 
determined  nothing  should  stand  in  the  way  of  fitting  out 
his  son  for  the  conflict  that  was  before  him.  First  he  became 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  an  office  by  no  means  to  be  despised, 
and  later  prothonotary  (clerk  in  a  district  court)  of  Washing 
ton  county.  This  necessitated  his  removal,  in  1843,  the  year 
in  which  he  was  elected,  from  Indian  Hill  Farm,  where  he 
was  then  living,  to  Washington.  The  office  of  prothonotary 
he  filled  creditably,  and  with  great  success.  He  was  extremely 
popular,  being  one  of  the  most  accomplished  and  well- 
informed  gentlemen  to  be  met  with  in  Western  Pennsylvania. 
His  education  and  travel  combined  to  make  him  a  desirable 
companion.  His  remarkable  tact  in  adapting  himself  to  all 
classes  of  society  with  which  he  came  in  contact  was  one  of 
the  secrets  of  his  winning  in  the  then  political  adventures  in 
which  he  engaged,  and  it  also  made  him  popular  with  the 
entire  community  in  which  he  lived.  He  was  a  man  whom 
even  a  bashful,  shy  boy  could  approach,  sure  of  a  kind  recep 
tion  and  encouraging  word.  His  early  years  had  been  some- 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  ig 

what  gay,  but  marriage  and  the  march  of  time  tempered  his 
exuberant  buoyancy  into  a  staunch  middle  age  and  an  hon 
ored  decadence.  This  was  the  father  of  James  Gillespie 
Elaine,  who  is  so  soon  to  be  a  ruler  of  fifty  millions  of 
people. 

Turning  to  a  tenderer  subject  of  recollection,  we  meet 
Maria  Gillespie,  James  G.  Elaine's  mother.  The  Gillespies 
were  among  the  most  prominent  families  in  the  State  of  Penn 
sylvania,  and  the  leading  spirits  of  Fayette  county.  They 
were  ardent  and  intense  Catholics,  and  made  their  religion  the 
leading  feature  of  their  lives.  The  most  active  of  them, 
Neal  Gillespie,  built  the  first  stone  house  ever  built  on  the 
western  side  of  the  Monongahela  river,  in  1778,  a  house 
which  is  still  standing,  and  which  was  the  hospitable  mansion 
on  the  Gillespie  farm.  Neal  Gillespie,  who  was  always  con 
sidered  the  smartest  man  in  all  the  section,  had  the  seal  of 
Nature's  nobility  stamped  upon  his  brow.  The  character  of 
his  people  was  well  defined  in  him.  They  were  brave,  stal 
wart,  and  good  men.  They  were  strong  in  heart  as  they 
were  stout  of  limb.  The  women  were  handsome,  and  carried 
themselves  as  proudly  as  though  the  blood  of  an  hundred 
earls  was  coursing  through  their  veins.  Neal  Gillespie  was  a 
large  landowner,  and  his  daughter  Maria,  though  imbued 
with  her  father's  spirit  and  fire,  and  though  being  a  true- 
believing  type  of  her  religion,  she  did  not  hesitate  to  accept 
the  hand  and  name  of  a  Elaine.  She  was  a  fine,  sterling 
woman,  and  a  woman,  of  her  time,  a  fine  mother  for  a  great 
man.  Her  beauty  early  in  her  life  passed  into  a  proverb,  and 
is  not  out  of  date  in  Western  Pennsylvania  to-day.  She  was 
a  woman  of  deep  piety,  and  a  modest,  retiring  Christian,  who 
in  daily  walk  and  conversation  showed  the  sincerity  of  her 
convictions.  During  her  residence  in  Washington,  though 


SO  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

she  never  lacked  the  proper  spirit  when  occasion  demanded, 
in  a  town  peopled  by  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians  and  their 
descendants,  and  in  a  time  when  it  required  courage  to  face 
the  issues  of  life,  she  always,  by  her  quiet,  consistent  conduct 
and  conversation,  exacted  from  one  and  all  with  whom  she 
came  in  contact  the  acknowledgment  that  she  was  indeed  a 
Christian. 

It  was  such  a  mother  as  this  who  first  trained  James 
G.  Blaine,  and  pointed  his  better  nature,  guiding  his 
steps  toward  the  ways  of  a  right  life.  A  few  years  •  since 
she  passed  away,  together  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Robert 
Walker,  wife  of  a  naval  officer,  and  leaving  no  child  to  carry 
her  fame  onward  but  James  Gillespie,  her  favorite  son. 
These  were  the  parents  of  James  G.  Blaine — a  father  generous, 
kind,  intellectual,  and  a  thorough  man ;  a  mother  sweet, 
spirited,  with  flashing  eye,  and  many  of  the  Christian  graces 
of  a  true  woman. 

The  Gillespie  farm,  in  West  Brownsville,  to  which  Ephraim 
Blaine  removed  in  1818,  was  like  one  of  a  hundred  others  of 
the  beautiful  farms  in  Western  Pennsylvania.  A  mansion, 
large  and  spacious,  with  strong  stone  walls  for  coolness  and 
warmth,  with  wide,  open  windows  to  let  in  the  sunshine,  and 
a  hall  with  a  hearth  on  which  logs  burnt  with  a  rustle  and 
roar  upon  great  andirons  ;  a  lawn  of  small  dimensions  gar 
nished  by  flowers,  roomy  barns  and  stables,  magnificent  trees, 
while  wide,  open  fields  were  covered  with  golden  grain, 
reaching  down  in  gentle  slopes  to  the  borders  of  the  blue 
river  beyond.  This  particular  farm,  owned  by  the  Gillespies, 
bordered  upon  the  Monongahela  river,  which  at  this  point 
separates  the  two  counties  of  Fayette  and  Washington. 
Brownsville  is  on  the  Fayette  side  and  West  Brownsville  on 
the  Washington  side,  not  far  from  the  old  residence  of  Albert 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  23 

Gallatin.  It  was  in  this  house  in  West  Brownsville,  the  Gil- 
lespie  mansion — the  Indian  Hill  Farm,  as  it  is  now  known — 
that  James  Gillespie  Elaine  was  born,  on  the  3 1st  of  January, 
1830.  As  soon  as  it  was  possible  the  boy  was  christened 
James,  for  his  grandfather,  and  Gillespie,  for  his  mother, 
uniting  in  his  name,  as  he  did  in  his  nature,  the  genial, 
sturdy  virtues  of  the  man  with  the  gentle,  refining  graces  of 
the  woman. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ELAINE'S  BOYHOOD  AND  EARLY  DAYS — A  COLLEGE  CAREER — FACING  A  SO 
CIETY—COMMENCEMENT  EXERCISES — THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  YOUTH. 

^HERE  is  not  much  that  can  be  said  concerning  the  life 
-••  of  the  boy  from  the  time  when  he  first  opened  his  eyes 
upon  the  world  to  that  in  which,  somewhat  abashed,  he  en 
tered  upon  his  college  career,  which  is  authentic  and  which  is 
interesting.  The  dear  dead  mother  who  alone,  perhaps,  could 
have  related  the  whims  and  fancies,  the  acts  and  wishes,  and 
the  mischief  and  achievements  of  his  toddling  years,  has  passed 
away.  The  boy  himself,  now  a  man,  does  not  remember,  and 
there  was  no  prophet  then  in  West  Brownsville  to  chronicle 
the  doings  of  the  youth  just  started  upon  his  long  and  event 
ful  march  to  the  Presidency. 

Anecdotes  are  of  course  told  of  him  which  throw  to-day, 
perhaps,  some  light  upon  his  present  purposes.  Like  other 
human  children,  he  paddled  about  on  the  banks  of  the  river, 
made  mud  pies,  got  himself  sunburnt,  and  bothered  himself  over 
the  snakes,  birds  and  fishes,  and  the  animals  of  the  woods;  had 
his  own  likes  and  longings  for  the  natural  and  the  beautiful, 
and  had  his  own  unavoidable  pains  and  aches  and  mishaps  of 
boyhood  days.  An  old  friend  says  that  he  remembers  a  little 
story  about  him,  which  he  often  heard  in  days  long  gone,  which 
shadowed  his  energy  of  purpose  in  after  years.  When  he  was 
but  a  little  toddler,  so  to  speak,  some  laborers  were  engaged 
digging  a  well  on  his  father's  premises.  The  future  statesman 
(24) 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  2$ 

was  caught  one  morning  peering  down  into  the  excavation, 
and  one  of  the  men,  with  the  idea  of  frightening  him  and  thus 
preventing  him  from  again  putting  himself  in  danger,  thrust  his 
shovel  toward  him  and  made  all  sorts  of  ugly  faces.  Jim  ran 
away,  but  only  to  nurse  his  anger  and  await  an  opportunity 
for  revenge.  Venturing  to  the  well  a  day  or  two  after  he  had 
been  driven  away,  he  found  the  men  working  away  at  the  bot 
tom.  Improving  the  opportunity,  he  seized  a  clod  of  earth 
and  hurled  it  with  all  his  little  might  full  at  the  head  of  his  un 
suspecting  enemy,  with  the  consolatory  remark,  "  There !  take 
that!"  Clod  followed  clod  in  fast  succession,  with  accompa 
nying  expletives,  until  the  men  were  fairly  beside  themselves 
with  rage  and  with  the  fear  that  the  desperate  child  might 
take  it  into  his  head  to  use  some  of  the  stones  lying  about 
him  as  messengers  of  wrath  more  effective  than  mere  lumps 
of  earth.  Their  shouts,  however,  brought  his  mother  to  the 
scene,  and  the  little  avenger  was  unceremoniously  hustled  off 
to  the  house.  That  was  the  old  blood  asserting  itself.  A 
Gillespie  or  a  Elaine  never  turned  his  back  upon  friend  or  foe^ 
After  Ephraim  Elaine  was  decorously  settled  in  the  prothon- 
otary's  chair  and  in  receipt  of  the  means  of  giving  his  son  a 
proper  education,  young  James  received  his  earlier  lessons 
from  his  father  with  much  additional  study  conducted  under 
the  care  of  his  gentle  mother,  supplemented  and  founded  upon 
the  course  of  instruction  followed  at  the  village  school. 
[jSome  of  his  time  preparatory  to  going  to  college  wasv  passed 
at  the  home  of  his  uncle,  Thomas  Ewing,  at  Lancaster,  Ohio, 
then  secretary  of  the  treasury.  It  was  here  that  he  prepared 
for  college  at  the  age  of  twelve,  in  company  with  Mr.  Ewing's 
son,  now  Judge  Ewing,  of  Ohio.  The  two  boys  were  under 
the  care  of  William  Lyons,  a  brother  of  the  then  Lord  Lyons 
and  an  uncle  of  the  Lord  Lyons  who  was  afterwards  Eritish 


26  HON.   JAMES   G.    BLAINE. 

minister  at  Washington.  It  was  here  on  this  farm  in  Lancas 
ter  where  young  Blaine  met  his  first  real  contact  with  politics 
in  the  sense  that  politics  were  everywhere  about  him,  and  it 
was  upon  this  farm  that  he  passed  many  of  his  delightful  days, 
to  which  his  memory  goes  back  with  fervent  reminiscence. 

In  the  summer  of  1843  Ephraim  Elaine's  decision  to  send 
his  son  to  Washington  College — at  that  time  an  institution  of 
considerable  reputation,  and  the  institution  within  the  portals 
of  which  Mr.  Blaine  was  sure  of  procuring  for  his  son  that  in 
telligence  necessary  tp  effect  a  perfect  life — was  consummated. 
The  boy's  training  was  completed,  and  in  November  of  that 
}  year  he  entered  the  freshmen  class.  During  the  four  years 
between  that  time  and  his  graduation  on  the  25th  day  of  Sep- 
,  tember,  1847,  young  Blaine's  career  is  much  more  of  an  open 
book  through  his  own  and  the  memories  of  his  classmates — 
a  book  each  page  of  which  is  a  delight.  The  ages  of  his  com 
panions  ranged  from  fourteen  to  nineteen,  and  they  were 
chiefly  Pennsylvanians,  with  a  few  from  the  adjoining  States 
of  Virginia  and  Ohio — a  class  of  more  than  average  ability, 
as  its  course  and  subsequent  history  proved. 

In  the  greater  part  of  four  years  that  we  find  the  lad  a 
student  at  Washington  College,  his  life  was  marked  by  ear 
nestness  of  purpose  and  the  direct  intention  to  profit  to  the 
utmost  by  his  opportunities.  The  college  course  was  not 
what  to-day  would  be  considered  a  thorough  academic  train 
ing,  but  for  the  time  and  resources  of  the  college  it  was  not 
only  creditable  but  complete. 

From  the  great  commoner's  classmates  I  have  gathered  the 
jewels  of  their  recollection  in  order  to  place  in  mosaic  James 
G.  Blaine's  career  at  a  time  when  it  first  began  to  attract 
attention. 

He  entered  college,  passing  the  examination  creditably,  one 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  29 

of  twenty-five,  and  with  the  same  happy  readiness  that  to-day 
wins  your  friendship,  he  soon  possessed  that  of  the  boys.  To 
the  new-comers  and  the  freshmen,  Jim  Elaine  was  always  a 
hero.  To  them  he  was  uniformly  kind  ;  ever  ready  to  assist  and 
advise  them,  and  to  make  smooth  and  pleasant  their  initiation 
into  college  life.  His  handsome  person;  his  ready  sympathy 
and  prompt  assistance  ;  his  frank  and  generous  nature,  and 
his  brave,  manly  bearing,  made  him  the  best  known,  the  best 
loved,  and  the  most  popular  boy  at  college.  He  was  the 
arbiter  among  younger  boys  in  all  their  disputes,  and  the 
authority  with  those  of  his  own  age  on  all  questions. 

He  was  a  natural  student,  excelling  pre-eminently  in  math 
ematics  and  English  branches,  showing  also  good  work  in  the 
dead  languages  of  the  classics.  Mathematics  without  question 
were  to  him  a  pleasure.  He  threw  into  the  pursuit  of  them 
all  the  ardor  of  a  budding  enthusiasm.  He  delighted  in  the 
close  reasoning  ;  the  subtle  logic ;  the  inevitable  and  invinci 
ble  proofs  of  which  the  problems  and  positions  were  suscep 
tible.  He  enjoyed  a  sort  of  personal  satisfaction  in  the 
triumph  of  a  mathematical  principle,  as  though  he,  its  demon 
strator,  was  also  its  inventor.  He  was  always  perfect  in 
mathematical  recitations,  and  was  the  idol  of  his  teacher, 
.  Professor  Aldrich.  Possessed  of  an  extraordinary  memory 
and  great  quickness  of  apprehension,  he  was  able  to  take 
strong  hold  of  the  subjects  he  studied  and  retain  them. 

One  peculiar  trait  of  his  character  as  then  formed,  and 
which  he  constantly  exhibited,  was  perfect  self-reliance.  While 
others  might  follow  the  ordinary  beaten  tracks,  he  took  delight 
in  getting  out  of  them.  Notably  so  when  one  warm  sunny 
afternoon  in  May,  1846,  at  a  recitation  in  mathematics,  he 
stood  before  his  class,  and  having  drawn  the  figure  on  the 
blackboard,  he  was  proceeding  to  prove  the  proposition  it 
contained  when  he  was  interrupted  by  the  professor. 


3O  HON.    JAMES    G.     BLAINE. 

"  James,  you  are  not  following  the  mode  of  proof  of  the 
author." 

To  which  the  lad,  with  quick,  earnest  tones,  replied : 

"  What  does  it  matter  if  I  can  demonstrate  the  principle  of 
the  proposition  in  some  other  way  than  he  has  done  ?  " 

The  boys  laughed ;  Professor  Aldrich  had  no  answer  for  the 
bold  innovator,  who,  amid  deep  awakened  interest,  continued 
his  demonstration  and  proved  the  proposition  and  his  right  to 
a  new  demonstration.  Such  originality  of  thought  and  ability 
to  lead,  a  showing  that  he  was  able  to  reach  a  result  by 
his  own  ingenuity,  and  by  some  other  than  the  beaten  way 
that  marked  this  occasion  is  the  same  characteristic  that  so 
often  since  has  amazed  and  captured  the  great  audience  of  the 
United  States — his  fellow-citizens. 

Jim  Elaine  possessed  the  faculty  of  always  making  a  good 
showing  in  his  classes,  and  even  when  not  entirely  prepared, 
his  quickness  and  apparent  familiarity  with  his  lessons  would 
carry  him  safely  through.  And  when  such  an  occasion  did 
occur,  it  required  shrewder  professors  than  Washington  College 
boasted  of  having  to  detect  his  deficiencies.  This  prominence 
in  his  class  was  conceded  by  his  classmates  to  be  due  to  his 
talents  and  industry,  and  occasioned,  therefore,  no  jealousy 
nor  hatred  of  him,  a  fact  that  can  be  the  more  easily  appreci 
ated  when  it  is  remembered  that  while  Euclid  presented  no 
difficulties — not  even  the  old  bugbear  pons  asinornm — to  Jim 
Blaine,  Tacitus  was  equally  a  friend  of  the  young  student; 
he  was  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  Greek  poet. 

Fond  of  literature  for  the  delightful  insight  it  gave  him  into 
the  companionship  of  great  minds,  and  the  deep  vista  of  other 
worlds  than  were  visible  from  Brownsville,  he  readily  de 
voured  such  books  as  the  college  library  afforded,  and  the 
rooms  of  the  various  societies  contained.  This  was  a  matter 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  3! 

of  delight  to  the  rapidly  expanding  mind  of  the  boy,  and  the 
highways  and  by-ways  of  Shakespeare ;  the  fine  philosophy 
of  Bacon ;  the  rare  pages  of  Ben  Jonson  ;  the  lighter  fancies 
of  Oliver  Goldsmith  mingled  their  varied  influences  with  the 
•greater  histories  and  the  more  modest  story  of  the  young 
Republic.  jTo  the  tale  of  1776  and  the  early  days  of  his 
country's" career  young  Blaine  lent  more  than  a  willing  ear, 
and  was  never  tired  of  the  story  of  how  large  a  part  his  great 
grandfather  had  played  in  that  sad  yet  glorious  drama.  The 
taste  for  history,  too,  founded  a  solid  taste  in  literature  that 
has  ever  since  continued  to  such  excellent  advantage,  and 
notably  makes  brilliant  the  pages  of  "  Twenty  Years  of  Con 
gress."  ^ 

Washington  College,  like  similar  institutions,  sustained  two 
literary  societies,  the  "  Washington"  and  the  "  Union,"  which 
were  the  pride  of  the  college.  There  was  between  them 
always  a  keen  and  honorable  rivalry.  The  canvass  for  new 
members  at  the  opening  of  each  term  of  college  was  very 
lively.  New  students  were  buttonholed  on  every  street  cor 
ner,  at  every  boarding-house,  or  "  fort,"  as  it  was  termed,  by 
some  one  of  the  ardent  Unionists  or  Washingtonians.  Jim 
Blaine  was  an  ardent  and  energetic  adherent  of  the  "  Washing 
ton,"  and  made  an  admirable  canvasser  for  recruits.  He  was 
always  alert,  and  succeeded  in  winning  many  converts.  It 
was  here  that  he  first  displayed  his  remarkable  aptitude  as  a 
presiding  officer,  and  he  displayed  it  in  a  way  thoroughly 
characteristic.  \  Having  been  elected  archon,  or  president,  he 
committed  Cushing's  Manual  to  memory  before  his  installa 
tion,  and  calmly  astonished  his  most  intimate  friends  by  the 
perfect  ease  and  promptness  with  which  he  made  his  decisions 
and  their  absolute  correctness.  (_Hjs  membership  in  Washing 
ton  demonstrated  that  he  was  a  natural  debater,  not  a  wran- 


32  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

gler,  but  a  reasoning  disputant,  who  delighted  in  convincing 
his  opponent,  if  possible,  that  he  was  wrong.  Political  sub 
jects  in  those  days  were  his  chief  delights,  and  his  arguments 
with  one  or  two  staunch  Democrats  among  the  students  are 
not  yet  forgotten  by  his  classmates. 

At  this  period  youi.g  Elaine  was  tall  and  well  developed  for 
a  boy  of  his  years.  He  was  never  fond  of  the  rough  games 
played  by  the  students,  football  being  apparently  one  of  his 
aversions  ;  yet,  when  he  occasionally  could  be  induced  to  take 
part  in  the  game,  he  would  acquit  himself  as  well  with  his  feet 
as  he  did  elsewhere  with  his  head.  Indeed,  in  athletic  sports 
he  was  less  of  a  leader  than  in  any  other  place,  seeming  to  be 
willing  to  concede  superiority  to  others  in  those  accomplish 
ments  which  could  be  of  no  benefit  in  future  life  beyond  lay 
ing  the  foundation  for  a  good  physique,  of  which  he  seemed 
conscious  he  was  even  then  fully  possessed. 

His  ambition  to  excel  never  slept,  yet  it  never  led  him  into 
doing  anything  which  could  possibly  injure  a  fellow-student 
The  selfishness  which  is  necessary  to  make  one  try  to  excel 
was  not  with  him  of  the  kind  to  work  a  wrong  on  another. 
He  was  never  so  much  wrapped  up  in  himself  that  he  could 
not  concede  a  full  measure  of  praise  to  a  successful  classmate, 
and  acknowledge  his  merits  in  a  just  and  proper  manner,  and 
to  this  sense  of  justice  was  added  a  strong  and  never-swerving 
spirit  of  forgiveness. 

Such  qualities  naturally  drew  the  boys  to  him.  That  per 
sonal  magnetism  which  draws  and  binds  friends  to  one's  self 

o 

was  a  marked  feature  in  his  character.  While  never  a  fop,  he 
was  always  neat  in  his  dress,  never  appearing  in  the  street  or 
in  class  in  disordered  attire.  He  was  fond  of  young  ladies' 
society,  but  never  neglected  his  studies  to  indulge  in  that 
pleasure.  The  idea  that  young  Blaine  was  bashful  or  timid 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  33 

in  the  company  of  young  ladies  was  never  correct,  and  in  the 
happy  days  beside  the  Monongahela  there  was  no  boy  in  the 
town  who  could  make  himself  more  agreeable  during  the  long, 
white  winter  evenings  or  in  a  ramble  over  the  summer  hills, 
clad  in  all  the  glorious  verdure  of  the  woods. 

And  young  Elaine's  popularity  among  the  young  ladies  of 
Washington  was  but  the  echo  of  his  popularity  everywhere. 
His  obedience  to  the  rules  of  the  institution  made  him  popu 
lar  with  the  faculty,  especially  its  president,  the  Rev.  David 
McConaughy,  D.D.,  the  honored  and  faithful  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  at  Washington,  the  church  young  Elaine 
attended  every  Sabbath  morning. 

It  can  be  said  of  him,  as  perhaps  of  few  others  that  have 
passed  through  college,  that  he  carefully  guarded  his  habits, 
and  left  college  as  he  entered  it,  without  any  stain  upon  his 
name,  and  without  having  been  guilty  of  those  excesses  that 
sometimes  leave  their  imprint  in  after  life  because  of  habits 
formed  that  were  hard  to  get  rid  of. 

It  can  be  also  truly  said  of  him  that  he  was,  although  sur 
rounded  by  considerable  temptation,  strongly  temperate,  and 
that  he  rather  prided  himself  upon  the  fact  that  he  would  not 
touch  intoxicating  liquor  of  any  kind.  In  his  intercourse  with 
his  classmates  he  was  polite  and  gentlemanly ;  always  main 
taining  a  certain  self-respect,  he  commanded  admiration,  was 
careful  not  to  wound  their  feelings,  and  left  them  at  the  close 
of  his  college  life  without  an  enemy  among  the  number.  He 
graduated  with  honor  to  himself,  and  left  behind  him  a  repu 
tation  for  integrity,  good  behavior,  and  scholarship  which  few 
students  attain. 

Among  those  who  assisted  in  shaping  the  now  budding 
mind  of  the  observant  boy  was  Miss  Mary  Ann  Graves,  Mrs. 
Matilda  Dorsey,  Mr.  Albert  G.  Boothe,  Mr.  John  V.  Gibbon, 


34  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

and  Solomon  Phillips.  Mr.  Elaine  was  under  these  teachers 
at  various  times  and  for  various  terms,  beginning  with  the  use 
of  letters  and  the  formation  of  the  simple  words  of  his  boy 
hood  vocabulary,  and  ending  with  reading,  writing  and  arith 
metic,  and  such  studies  as  were  preliminary  to  those  afterward 
conducted  by  Mr.  Lyons.  His  age  during  these  studies  ranged 
from  ten  to  twelve. 

Mr.  Blaine  graduated  on  the  25th  of  September,  1847,  at 
the  age  of  seventeen  years  and  eight  months,  with  the  full 
approval  of  the  faculty  of  his  college,  which  consisted  of: 
Rev.  David  McConaughy,  D.D.,  LL.  D.,  President;  Rev.  Wil 
liam  P.  Alrich,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Mathematics;  Richard  H. 
Lee,  Professor  of  Belles  Lettres;  Rev.  David  Ferguson,  Pro 
fessor  of  Languages;  Rev.  Nicholas  Murray,  Professor  of 
Languages  ;  Rev.  Robert  Milligan,  Professor  of  English  Lit 
erature  ;  John  L.  Gow,  Esq.,  Professor  of  Municipal  Law ; 
James  King,  M.  D.,  Professor  of  Physiology  and  Hygiene. 

The  following  is  the  programme  of  the  Commencement 
Exercises,  with  the  names  of  his  classmates : 

ANNUAL  COMMENCEMENT 

OF 

WASHINGTON  COLLEGE,  PA. 

Wednesday,  September^,  1847. 

GRADUATING  CLASS. 

Andrew  Barr,  John  H.  Hampton,  Edward  B.  Neely, 

George  Baird,  R.  C.  Holliday,  William  M.  Orr, 

James  G.  Blaine,  John  G.  Jacob,  Samuel  Power, 

Josiah  C.  Cooper,  Richard  H.  Lee,  William  H.  M.  Pusey, 

George  D.  Curtis.  John  V.  LeMoyne,  T.  Wilson  Porter, 

'raomas  Creighton,  La  Fayctte  Markle,  Huston  Quail, 

R.  C.  Colmery,  C,.  H. 'Miller,  Robert  Robe, 

Cephas  Dodd,  J.  R.  Moore,  J.  A.  Rankin, 

Hugh  W.  Forbes,  William  S.  Moore,  James  H.  Smith, 

Alexander  M.  Gow,  Robert  J.  Munce,  John  H.  Storer, 

John  C.  Hervey,  M.  I'.  Morrison,  Alexander  Wilson. — 33. 


HON.    JAMES   G.    BLAINE.  35 

MA  TRI  ALMM  SIMUS  HO  NOR  I. 

ORDER  OF  EXERCISES. 

Music — Prayer — Music. 

1st.  Latin  Salutatory John  C.  Hervey,  Brooke  County,  Va. 

Music. 

2d.  English  Salutatory  and  Oration. . .  .James  G.  Elaine,  West  Brownsville,  Pa. 

Music. 

3d.  Greek  Salutatory T.  W.  Porter,  Fayette  County,  Pa. 

Music. 

4th.  Oration — The  Sword  and  the  Plough J.  G.  Jacob,  Wellsburgh,  Va. 

Music. 

5th.  Oration — Byron Huston  Quail,  Union  Valley,  Pa. 

Music. 

6th.  Oration — The  Era  of  Napoleon La  Fayette  Markle,  Mill  Grove,  Pa. 

Music. 

7th.  A  Poem — The  Collegian G.  D.  Curtis,  Grove  Creek,  Va. 

Music. 

8th.  Oration— Moral  Warfare J.  R.  Moore,  Wellsville,  O. 

Music. 

9th.  Oration — Poverty  Useful  in  the  Development  of  Genius 

R.  C.  Colmery,  Hayesville,  O. 

Music. 

loth.  Oration — The  American  Boy E.  B.  Neely,  Washington  City,  D.  C. 

Music — Conferring  of  Degrees — Music. 

I ith.  Valedictory   . . William  M.  Orr,  Wayne  County,  O. 

Music. 
BENEDICTION. 


As  will  be  seen  from  the  programme,  the  honor  of  the  class 
was  divided  between  John  C.  Hervey,  who  had  the  Latin  ora 
tion  ;  Thomas  Porter,  who  had  the  Greek  oration  ;  and  James 
G.  Blaine,  who  took  the  oration  in  English.  This  was  the 
class,  augmented  by  seven  since  the  Freshman  year,  and  con 
taining  many  who  in  after  years  rose  to  positions  of  distinction 
and  honor  in  the  country. 

If  Mr.  Blaine  pauses  to-day  to  look  at  his  old  class 
mates  what  does  he  see  ?  Alexander  M.  Gow  became  Presi 
dent  of  Dickson  College,  Illinois ;  John  H.  Hampton,  of 
Pittsburgh,  rose  to  distinction  at  the  bar  of  Pittsburgh,  where 
he  still  resides.  John  B.  Lemoine  studied  law  and  moved  to 
Chicago,  where  he  became  eminent  in  his  profession,  and  for 
some  time  was  a  member  of  Congress.  J.  R.  Moore  was 


36  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

called  to  be  President  of  Morgantown  College,  in  West  Vir 
ginia.  William  S.  Moore  became  the  editor  of  a  paper  in 
Washington,  Pa.,  and  after  having  studied  law,  served  several 
terms  in  Congress  with  credit  to  himself  and  to  his  constitu 
ents.  W.  H.  M.  Pusey  took  up  his  residence  in  the  State  of 
Iowa,  "  grew  up  with  the  country,"  and  is  now  a  resident  of 
Council  Bluffs,  having  been  highlysuccessful  in  commercial 
life,  the  honors  of  which  were  followed  by  his  being  sent  to 
the  Senate  of  his  State,  and  promoted  thence  to  the  floor  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  at  Washington.  William  M. 
Orr,  of  Orrville,  Ohio,  also  studied  law,  and  became  distin 
guished  in  his  profession.  Alexander  Wilson,  of  Washington, 
Pa.,  too,  professed  the  discipleship  of  Coke  and  Blackstone, 
and  is  now,  and  has  been  for  many  years,  among  the  foremost 
lawyers  of  the  Washington  County  bar.  John  C.  Harvey  died 
at  Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  a  short  time  since,  while  holding 
the  office  of  Superintendent  of  Public  Schools  of  that  city. 
Professor  E.  B.  Neely  also  chose  the  difficult  task  of  educa 
tion,  as  did  James  Gillespie  Blaine,  and  sought  the  great 
West.  He  now  holds  the  office  of  Superintendent  of  Public 
Schools  at  St.  Joseph,  Missouri.  Mr.  Lafayette  Markle  was 
also  possessed  of  the  fever  of  assisting  the  world,  and  chose 
the  thorny  paths  of  journalism.  He  now  directs  the  fortunes 
of  a  newspaper  at  Nyack,  New  York.  Thomas  Porter  died 
many  years  ago  at  Waynesburg,  Pa.,  after  having  conducted 
with  ability  and  distinction  a  newspaper  of  Democratic  pro 
clivities.  These  were  the  associates  of  Jim  Blaine,  and  the 
credit  of  succeeding  of  leading  where  they  led  is  not  to  be 
rated  a  small  one. 

These  men  to-day  are  profoundly  elated  over  the  success 
of  classmate  Blaine.  They  have  watched  with  great  interest 
and  with  much  pride  his  gradual  elevation  to  the  high  position 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  37 

and  honors  that  he  now  sustains,  knowing  full  well  that  under 
no  circumstances  could  he  ever  be  anything  different  to  them 
than  Jim  Blaine.  They  do  not  forget  him,  and  he  remembers 
them  as  keenly  as  though  the  saddened  years  had  not  inter 
vened  between  their  present  paths  of  1846  and  the  havens  of 
1884. 

A  few  years  ago  in  a  little  town  in  Ohio  during  the  excite 
ment  of  a  wild-  political  tempest,  Senator  Blaine,  of  Maine,  was 
advertised  to  make  a  political  speech.  A  number  of  old 
Washington  students  living  within  a  few  miles  of  the  place 
assembled,  and  were  waiting  with  eager,  flashing  faces  and 
high-beating  hearts,  his  arrival  at  the  station.  The  orator,  in 
charge  of  a  committee,  on  the  way  to  the  hotel,  discovered  the 
party.  Breaking  away  from  his  escort  he  was  in  the  middle  of 
it  in  a  twinkling.  "  How  are  you  Tom,  John,  Bob,  Alec, 
George?"  to  which  they  equally  and  heartily  adding,  "  How 
are  you,  Jim  ?  "  made  not  only  the  escorting  committee,  but 
the  assembled  villagers,  regard  the  whole  party  with  astonish 
ment.  Blaine  was  revelling  in  happy  memories !  If  that 
meeting  caused  him  as  much  genial  pleasure  as  it  did  the  old 
boys  who  met  him,  it  was  a  bright  day  for  Senator  Blaine. 
Some  of  the  number  had  never  trained  or  affiliated  with  his 
political  party,  nor  subscribed  to  his  political  creed,  but  admi 
ration  for  the  boy  that  all  remembered  with  feelings  of  love 
and  esteem  had  drawn  them  to  see  him,  and  he  and  they  met, 
not  as  politicians,  but  as  lads  once  more.  Thirty-five  years 
were  rolled  back  ;  gray  hairs  turned  black  again ;  stooped 
forms  were  straightened,  and  Jim  and  the  boys  were  together 
again. 

A  tall,  well-knit  figure,  a  good  student,  a  ready  debater,  a 
quick  parliamentarian,  ambition   to  excel,  elegant  and  easy 
manners,  and  a  personal  magnetism  which  compelled  others 
3 


38  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

to  admire  and  love  him,  were  some  of  the  things  which  dis 
tinguished  yim  Biaine  at  college.  How  much  these  traits 
have  been  developed  and  strengthened  in  his  life  since  then,  it 
is  for  the  friends  of  the  Hon.  James  G.  Biaine,  of  Maine,  to 
say.  To  his  old  classmates  and  college  classmen  he  will 
always  be  Jim ;  not  irreverently  so,  but  in  the  rough  affec 
tionate  language  of  boys  at  school  ;  and  when  the  tide  of.E.e- 
publican  victory  shall  sur^e  up  to  the__White  House— doorsjr^ 
the  coming  days  of  November,  none  of  his  friends_vvil]_rejoice 
-•friorc  thtin  t^^v. 


CHAPTER  III. 

FACING  THE  WORLD — ELAINE  SETS  OUT  TO  MAKE  His  OWN  WAY — A 
TEACHER  IN  KENTUCKY — Miss  HARRIET  STANWOOD,  THE  FUTURE  MRS. 
ELAINE — THE  FIRST  CONTACT  WITH  SLAVERY — TEACHING  THE  BLIND. 

NO  man  in  the  United  States  has  ever  yet  reached  the 
Presidency  whose  career  was  begun  in  other  than  days 
of  trial.  It  would  seem,  indeed,  as  if  there  was  something  per 
taining  to  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  American  peo 
ple  that  required  the  foundation  of  a  President's  character  to 
be  laid  in  the  severe  school  of  poverty  and  tested  in  the 
bitterness  of  privation.  Even  the  accidents  and  perversions 
of  politics  have  not  affected  this  rule.  A  certain  grade  of 
character  is  a  prerequisite  to  the  President's  chair,  and  this 
grade  seems  to  be  unobtainable  through  other  than  the 
refining  and  gilding  influences  of  hardship.  This  is  credita 
ble  to  us  as  a  nation  and  is  in  strict  keeping  with  the  free, 
vigorous,  honest  spirit  of  our  unmatched  institutions. 

It  is  necessity  that  develops  resource.  The  American 
character  always  shines  best  in  a  crisis.  Under  ordinary 
circumstances  we  are  content  to  let  things  drift,  but  in  the 
face  of  any  calamity  we  rise  supreme  and  suddenly  and  conquer 
it.  The  magnitude  and  difficulty  of  the  task  have  no  bearing 
upon  the  result  save  to  gauge  the  strength  of  the  effort 
necessary  to  secure  it.  And  this  is  pre-eminently  noticeable 
in  the  American  youth  in  whom  besides  ability,  courage  and 
determination  always  resides  the  supreme  and  irresistible 
energy  of  youthful  enthusiasm. 


4O  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

The  boys  at  Washington  College  were  not  rich  in  anything 
else  than  health,  ability,  and  ambition.  In  those  days  the 
sons  of  the  citizens  of  the  State  were  not  allowed  much 
money,  even  if  their  parents  possessed  it.  The  parents  of 
James  G.  Blaine  were  obliged  to  practice  economy,  in  order 
that  he  might  be  fitted  out  to  take  his  part  in  the  intellectual 
battle  of  the  world.  He  studied  during  his  entire  career  at 
Washington  College,  under  the  constant  belief  that  he  would 
have  to  enter  the  world  without  the  aid  of  influential  friends, 
and  lacking  the  spur  of  wealthy  relatives,  for  he  was  poor. 
When  he  faced  the  world  from  the  door  of  Washington  Col 
lege,  that  day  in  September,  he  did  not  have  fifty  cents  in 
his  pocket.  Where  were  bank  bills  in  some  boys,  he  only 
held  a  diploma  of  merit.  That  he  had  no  money  was  a  small 
matter.  He  possessed  resolution,  and  the  brains  and  strength 
to__carry  his  resolution  into  practical  effect. 

He  left  his  alma  mater  with  the  intention  of  becoming  a 
teacher,  of  adopting  that  career  in  life  which  is  at  once  a 
thankless  and  a  noble  one.  Just  what  turned  his  steps  south 
ward  no  one  can  perhaps  say.  A  long-time  friend  of  Mr. 
Blaine,  Col.  F.  A.  Burr,  writing  upon  this  subject,  alludes  to 
it  as  a  matter  of  delicacy  and  tradition.  He  says : 

Like  other  boys  he  had  his  friendships  and  his  loves,  and  it  would  be  strange 
if  he  hnd  grown  up — for  he  is  said  to  have  been  as  handsome  a  boy  as  he  is  a 
man — without  leaving  some  impression  upon  the  hearts  of  the  maidens  of  the 
neighborhood.  If  there  is  one  person  living  who  can  tell,  and  there  is,  it  has 
been,  and  doubtless  will  be,  forever  kept  as  a  sealed  book,  so  far  as  the  details 
are  concerned.  It  was  one  of  those  youthful  misunderstandings  that  often  come 
to  two  people  who  hope  to  start  out  on  the  voyage  of  life  together,  and  are 
separated  by  an  angry  sea  before  they  meet.  There  is  not  even  a  suggestion  as 
to  which  of  the  two  were  at  fault  for  the  parting  of  the  ways  that  led  their  life's 
journeys  into  different  paths.  The  party  most  disappointed  has  never  wedded, 
but  has  rather  devoted  her  life  to  self-denying  charity.  For  twenty  years,  and 
by  the  irony  of  fate  in  the  capital  of  the  nation,  has  she  followed  the  path  of  an 
undeviating  Chri>tian  life,  devoted  to  careful  attention  upon  suffering  humanity, 
doubtless  watching  with  a  careful  eye  his  steadily  advancing  steps,  and,  perhaps, 
of'en  sitting  under  the  spell  of  his  eloquence,  without  his  ever  knowing  that  the 
being  whose  presence  was  once  the  chief  charm  of  his  life  was  even  living. 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  4! 

The  next  view  of  Mr.  Blaine  furnished  by  the  kaleidoscope 
of  history  is  as  a  teacher,  or  rather  a  professor,  as  his  then 
title  was  in  the  Western  Institute  of  Blue  Lick  Springs,  Ken 
tucky.  To  this  institute  he  went  almost  immediately  upon  his 
graduation,  in  1847;  unconsciously,  perhaps,  following  in  the 
footsteps  of  Webster  and  other  Americans  who  founded 
careers  of  lustre  in  the  experience  born  of  governing  men — 
a  school  and  experience  which,  when  properly  taken  advantage 
of,  leads  to  the  most  important  results.  The  lad  Blaine  was 
a  real  student  of  human  nature,  and  acted  constantly  on  the 
principle  that  "  The  True  Study  of  Mankind  is  Man."  He 
read  and  digested  correctly,  quickly,  systematically ;  and 
success  was  therefore  not  a  matter  of  question  when  he  faced 
the  five  hundred  students  at  Blue  Lick  Springs. 

Life  at  that  time  in  Kentucky  was  decidedly  at  variance 
with  the  social  methods  of  Western  Pennsylvania;  slavery 
was  in  full  feather ;  its  influence  upon  the  spirit  of  the  times 
was  such  as  to  make  the  task  of  teaching  men  who  were  born 
gentlemen,  born  with  an  inherited  and  thorough  disdain  of 
every  restriction  in  their  proud  souls,  thoroughly  difficult. 
Mr.  Blaine  wisely  exerted  his  powers  of  winning,  in  order 
that  as  a  superior  he  should  be  so  firmly  established  in  the 
hearts  of  the  men  under  him,  that  when  the  harder  necessities 
of  education  should  be  encountered  he  would  not  have  to 
make  a  perpetual  fight.  In  consequence,  he  knew  the  given 
names  of  every  one  of  the  five  hundred  boys,  he  knew  their 
shortcomings,  their  mean  ambitions  and  their  high  ambitions, 
their  hopes  and  fears.  With  such  weapons,  it  was  indeed 
not  surprising  that  the  new  teacher  was  very  popular,  and  as 
he  was  a  man  of  strong  personal  courage,  his  dominance 
from  the  outset  was  rendered  sure  beyond  a  doubt. 

His   reputation  for  courage   was  established  early  in  his 


42  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

career  at  Blue  Lick.  A  bloody  fight  between  the  faculty  of 
the  school  and  the  owners  of  the  Springs,  involving  some 
question  about  the  removal  of  the  school,  took  place.  During 
the  affray  young  Elaine  behaved  in  the  bravest  manner,  fight 
ing  hard  but  keeping  cool.  Revolvers  and  knives  were  freely 
used  by  the  combatants,  but  the  Pennsylvania  teacher  used 
only  his  well-disciplined  muscles.  The  faculty  won,  and  the 
prestige  of  having  been  a  leader  in  a  winning  fight,  a  giant  in 
the  fray,  was  not  in  the  least  detrimental  to  the  success  of  the 
aspiring  pedagogue. 

Towards  the  close  of  1850,  Mr.  Blaine  realized  that  he  was 
not  born  for  the  profession  he  had  selected.  The  duties  were 
sometimes  irksome,  and  the  trials  and  tribulations  over  small 
things  were  more  than  a  man  of  high  spirit  and  large  views 
could  well  encounter  day  by  day.  He  decided,  therefore,  to 
return  to  Pennsylvania — a  move  that  he  executed  in  the 
spring  of  the  year  following.  Before  accompanying  him  back 
to  his  native  town,  there  are  two  pages  from  his  Kentucky 
note-book  which  exercised  a  most  important  influence  upon 
his  career  and  future,  that  need  to  be  expatiated  upon. 

The  gentler  and  farther-reaching  influence  I  shall  speak  of 
first.  The  principal  of  the  Blue  Lick  Springs  under  whom 
Mr.  Blaine  taught  was  Col.  Thornton  F.  Johnson,  and  among* 
Mr.  Elaine's  associates  was  Bushrod  R.  Johnston,  afterwards 
so  distinguished  in  the  Confederate  service.  Col.  Johnson's 
wife  was  an  enthusiast  in  the  same  great  cause  as  her  husband, 
and  conducted  a  young  ladies'  school  at  Millersburg,  twenty 
miles  distant.  It  was  here,  in  the  soft  lights  of  a  spring  day, 
that  Mr.  Elaine  met  Harriet  Stanwood,  who  was  then  teach 
ing  in  the  Millersburg  school.  The  fascinations  of  this  young 
lady's  manner,  her  strong  character  and  fine  face,  attracted  the 
young  teacher  so  irresistibly,  that  during  the  months  inter- 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  43 

vening  between  the  date  of  his  acquaintance  and  his  removal 
to  Pennsylvania  the  two  had  exchanged  vows  of  constancy, 
which  culminated  in  marriage,  in  1851,  before  the  teacher 
returned  to  Pennsylvania.  When  he  went  his  bride  went  with 
him.  In  another  part  of  this  volume,  Miss  Harriet  Stanwood, 
now  Mrs.  Elaine,  is  referred  to  more  fully. 

The  second  incident  of  his  Kentucky  career  that  perpetuated 
such  a  striking  influence  upon  his  life  was  his  contact  with  the 
evils  of  slavery.  He  met  it  face  to  face,  he  felt  its  influence, 
he  knew  its  demoralizing  power,  and  he  saw  everywhere  around 
him  the  wreck  of  great  principles  which  it  had  wrought.  The 
effect  of  this  contact  upon  Mr.  Blaine  in  after  years  was  very 
marked,  and  his  position  on  the  slavery  question,  even  while 
in  the  homes  of  those  fostering  the  system,  was  that  of  de 
cided  opposition  to  the  iniquity  in  every  form  and  shape.  We 
may  be  pardoned  for  anticipating  our  story  here  when  em 
phasising  the  influences  that  were  at  work  to  turn  Mr.  Blaine 
into  an  anti-slavery  apostle.  In  an  editorial,  printed  in  the 
'cnnebec  Journal,  January  I5th,  1855,  Mr.  Blaine  thus  throws 
side  light  on  his  life  in  Kentucky  and  the  unshaken  opinions 
hat  he  then  formed  concerning  slavery  : 

THE  "AGE"  GROWING  PERSONAL. 

\ 

We  find  the  following  precious  niorcean  in  the  Age  of  Saturday  last: 
"One  of  the  editors  of  the  new  Merrill  organ  in  this  city  has  too  recently  par 
taken  of  the  '  slaveholder's  salt,'  and  reposed  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  '  pe 
culiar  institution,'  to  authorize  him  to  lecture  contemporaries  on  their  duty  to  the 
cause  of  'freedom.'  We  would  recommend  to  his  consideration  Shakespeare's 
advice  to  new  beginners  in  the  art  theatrical." 

We — the  editor  referred  to  in  this  would-be  severe  paragraph — have  to  plead 
guilty  to  a  residence  of  four  years,  prior  to  and  including  1850,  in  the  State  of 
Kentucky.  We  were  engaged  in  what  we  still  consider  the  honorable  capacity 
of  a  teacher,  in  a  literary  institution,  then  and  now  in  deservedly  high  standing 
with  the  several  States,  both  North  and  South,  which  patronize  and  sustain  it. 
Invited  to  take  ihe  position  for  a  certain  pecuniary  consideration,  which  we  regu 
larly  received,  and  having  to  the  best  of  our  ability  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 


44  HON.    JAMES   G.    BLAIXE. 

concerned  discharged  our  duties,  we  have  been  under  the  impression  that  the 
matter  was  closed  and  nothing  due  from  either  party  to  the  other  in  the  way  of 
personal  obligation  or  political  fealty.  The  Age,  however,  seems  to  think  that 
having  partaken  of  the  "  Slaveholder's  salt  "  (for  which  we  paid),  we  should  be 
dumb  to  the  slaveholder's  wrong-doings.  So  conscious  are 'they  of  the  potency 
of  a  little  "  administration  salt"  in  shutting  their  own  mouths  and  Stirling  their 
real  sentiments  on  the  shivery  question  that  they  cannot  conceive  of  any  one 
taking  a  more  independent  or  more  manly  course. 

We  beg  leave  further  to  say  (since  we  are  reluctantly  forced  into  this  allusion 
to  self)  that  the  anti-slavery  sentiments,  which,  from  our  earliest  youth,  we  im- 
bibed  in  our  native  Pennsylvania — the  first  of  the  "old  thirteen"  to  abolish 
s'avery — were  deepened  and  strengthened  by  a  residence  among  slaveholders, 
and  that  nowhere,  either  on  slave  soil  or  on  free  soil,  have  we  expressed  other 
feelings  than  those  of  decided  hostility  to  the  extension  of  the  withering  curse. 

Our  residence  in  the  South  gave  us,  we  hope,  the  advantage  of  a  thorough 
comprehension  of  the  question  of  slavery  in  all  its  aspects  and  of  the  views  of 
the  men  who  sustain  it.  It  taught  us,  among  other  thing-;,  that  slaveholders, 
whilst  wholly  unreasonable  and  even  perfidious  in  their  aggressions  upon  freedom, 
have  yet  the  magnanimity  to  despise  a  Northern  traitor;  and  that  all  organists 
and  apologists  of  dough-facery,  after  earning  the  contempt  of  freemen  at  home, 
have  only  for  consolation  the  kicks  and  cuffs  of  their  Southern  masters. 

But  we  forbear;  the  opinion  now  current  is  that  our  neighbors  of  the  Age,  in 
consenting  to  preach  acquiescence  under  the  "  crushing  out "  process  of  Pierce 
and  Cushing,  went  it  dirt  cheap,  and  have  even  failed  to  receive  the  whole  of 
the  stipulated  compensation.  Under  this  belief  the  derision  which  they  so  richly 
merited  and  at  first  so  bountifully  received  is  rapidly  subsiding  and  giving  place 
to  a  feeling  of  pity;  in  this,  we  trust,  we  have  the  generosity  to  share,  and  cannot 
therefore  find  it  in  our  heart  to  add  a  single  taunt  or  unkind  remark. 

From  this  it  is  easily  seen  that  when  he  raised  his  voice 
against  this  blot  upon  the  nineteenth  century's  civilization,  he 
spoke  not  from  blind  prejudices  but  from  thorough  knowledge 
of  circumstances  existing  in  the  slaveholding  States.  This, 
therefore,  gave  great  force  to  all  his  utterances  on  subjects  re 
lating  to  the  South,  both  during  and  since  our  Civil  War. 
/^Mr.  Blaine  turned  northward,  bringing  with  him  his  young 
bride  in  the  spring  of  1851.  He  brought  with  him  also  a 
resolve  to  study  law.  This  he  did,  not  persistently  as  other 
students  perhaps,  following  the  course  prescribed  in  the  law 
offices,  but  reading  partly  with  his  father  and  partly  with 
othec  lawyers  of  his  acquaintance  in  Washington  county,  and 
making  earnest  investigations  in  the  great  body  of  the  law 
and  many  long  journeys  into  its  greater  fields.  This  law- 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  45 

course  he  afterwards  completed  in  Philadelphia  under  the  di 
rection  of  the  late  Theodore  Guyler. 

The  opportunity  to  study  under  Mr.  Cuyler  came  to  Mr. 
Blaine  when  he  was  principal  teacher  on  the  boys'  side  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Institution  for  the  instruction  of  the  blind. 
This  position  he  held  for  two  years,  and  when  he  departed  he 
left  behind  him,  not  only  regret  at  the  serious  loss  to  the  In 
stitution,  but  the  impression  of  his  personal  force  upon  the 
work  and  its  methods,  which  survives  to-day  the  lapse  of 
thirty  years. 

He  rang  the  bell  of  the  front  door  of  the  building  one  sum 
mer  afternoon  in  1852  in  answer  to  an  advertisement  for  a 
teacher.  There  were  thirty  or  forty  other  applicants,  but  the 
manner  of- young  Blaine  was  so  winning,  and  he  possessed  so 
many  valuable  qualities,  that  an  engagement  with  him  was 
closed  at  once.  He  returned  to  his  home,  gathered  his  effects, 
and  with  his  wife  and  son  Walker,  then  an  infant  in  arms, 
took  up  his  residence  in  Philadelphia,  one  stage  nearer  the 
scene  history  had  chosen  to  be  his  home.  The  work  that  he 
was  called  upon  to  do  was  the  teaching  of  mathematics  and 
the  higher  branches,  and  Mrs.  Blaine  assisted  somewhat  and 
often  read  aloud  to  the  pupils.  Both  were  ready  to  do  any 
thing  for  the  amusement  of  the  scholars  in  leisure  hours,  and 
the  pupils  enjoyed,  in  this  expression  of  healthy  natures,  a 
great  deal  of  fun  into  which  the  Blaines  entered  most  heartily. 
Measuring  the  work  in  memory  I  may  mention  that  Mrs. 
Blaine  read  nearly  all  of  Dickens'  works  aloud  to  the  scholars, 
and  the  future  President  sitting  under  the  gaslight  surrounded 
by  a  bevy  of  boys  and  girls  would  often  read  from  a  book 
entitled  "  Charcoal  Sketches,"  or  conduct  a  spelling-bee,  giv 
ing  out  the  words  himself,  or  standing  up  among  the  boys 
and  taking  his  turn  in  spelling  at  another's  dictation,  when  the 


46  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

class  would  enjoy  the  keen  amusement  of  attempting  to  spell 
the  teacher  down. 

In  the  Institution  which  stands  on  the  corner  of  Twentieth 
and  Race  Streets,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  is  preserved  the 
first  evidence  of  Mr.  Elaine's  early  literary  work,  indeed  his 
first  book.  It  is  a  thick  quarto  manuscript,  bound  in  dark- 
brown  leather  and  lettered  "  Journal."  It  was  completed  by 
Mr.  Blaine  with  great  labor  from  the  "  Minute  Book"  of  the 
Board  of  Managers,  and  it  gives  a  historical  view  of  the  Insti 
tution,  from  the  time  of  its  foundation  up  to  the  time  of 
Mr.  Elaine's  departure.  On  the  title-page  in  ornamental  pen- 
work  which  was  executed  at  the  time  by  Mr.  William  Chapin, 
then  as  now  the  principal,  is  this  inscription : 

JOURNAL 

of  the 
PENNSYLVANIA  INSTITUTION 

for  the 

INSTRUCTION  OF  THE  BLIND, 
from  its  foundation. 

Compiled  from  official  records 

by 

JAMES  G.  ELAINE, 
1854. 

The  methodical  character  of  this  book  is  most  remarkable. 
On  the  first  page  every  abbreviation  used  in  the  book  is  en 
tered  alphabetically.  On  the  four  following  pages  will  be 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  49 

found  "  Some  Notes  in  Regard  to  the  Origin  of  the  Pennsylva 
nia  Institution  for  the  Instruction  of  the  Blind,  furnished  by 
I.  Francis  Fisher,  Esq."  From  this  page  to  the  i88th,  in 
which  is  the  last  entry  made  by  Mr.  Elaine,  every  line  is  a 
model  of  neatness  and  accuracy.  On  every  page  is  a  wide 
margin ;  at  the  top  of  the  margin  is  the  year  in  ornamental 
figures.  Below  it  is  a  brief  statement  of  what  the  text  con 
tains  opposite  that  portion  of  the  marginal  entry.  Every 
year's  record  closes  with  an  elaborate  table,  giving  the  attend 
ance  of  members  of  the  Board.  The  last  pages  of  the  book 
are  filled  with  alphabetical  lists  of  officers  of  the  Institution, 
and  statistical  tables  compiled  by  the  same  patient  and  untir 
ing  hand.  One  of  the  lists  is  that  of  the  "  principal  teachers." 
No.  13  is  followed  by  the  signature,  "  Jas.  G.  Blaine,  from 

August  5, 1852,  to ;"  and  then,  in  another  hand,  the  record 

is  completed  with  the  date  "Sept.  23d,  1854." 

This  volume,  in  accurate  mastery  of  facts  and  orderly  pre 
sentation  of  details,  illustrates  Mr.  Blaine's  character  quite 
generously.  The  qualities  at  that  time  which  most  impressed 
those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  were  his  culture, 
the  thoroughness  of  his  education  and  his  unfailing  self-pos 
session.  He  was  also  a  man  of  very  decided  will,  and  was 
very  much  inclined  to  argument.  He  was  somewhat  impul 
sive,  jumped  to  his  conclusions  very  quickly,  and  was  always 
ready  to  defend  them  no  matter  how  suddenly  he  seemed  to 
have  reached  them.  With  his  Principal  he  had  many  familiar 
discussions,  and  his  arguments  always  astonished  Mr.  Chapin 
by  the  intimate  knowledge  they  displayed  of  the  facts  in  his 
tory  and  in  politics.  His  memory  was  noticeable  and  seemed 
to  retain  details  which  ordinary  men  soon  forgot. 

Mr.  Chapin,  who  remembers  his  assistant  with  much  affec 
tion,  in  illustrating  his  firmness  of  character,  relates  an  anec- 


5O  HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

dote,  which  from   the  complete  success  of  the  victory   has 
never  yet  faded  from  his  memory.     Mr.  Chapin  writes : 

I  recall  one  incident  which  indicates  Mr.  Blaine's  mode  of  discipline,  and 
shows,  too,  that  he  was  in  those  days  somewhat  impulsive.  It  was  one  of  his 
duties  to  take  charge  of  the  boys  at  breakfast,  and  sometimes  there  would  be  a 
few  sleepy  laggards.  One  morning  a  whole  room-full  of  boys,  five  or  six  of 
them,  failed  to  appear.  Mr.  Blaine  quietly  walked  up-stairs  and  locked  them  in. 
The  boys  had  a  screw-driver  and  they  unfastened  the  lock  ;  but  by  the  time  they 
reached  the  breakfast-room  the  tables  had  been  cleared.  "  You  can  have"  no 
breakfast,"  was  the  teacher's  announcement.  The  boys  thereupon  declared  that 
they  wouldn't  go  into  Mr.  Blaine's  classes.  He  reported  them  to  me.  Although 
I  thought  it  perhaps  a  little  severe  to  deprive  them  of  breakfast,  I  felt  obliged  to 
sustain  Mr.  Blaine,  and  told  them  to  go  to  their  class-rooms  as  usual.  They 
still  refused,  and  I  suspended  them  for  the  day.  The  next  morning  they  rose  in 
time  for  breakfast,  attended  classes,  and  the  little  rebellion  was  over. 

The  work  here  among  the  blind  boys  was  very  congenial 
to  the  young  teacher,  as  far  as  he  cared  for  teaching,  much 
more  so  than  it  had  been  in  the  somewhat  stormy  days  in 
Kentucky.  There  was  a  feeling  in  connection  with  the  work, 
that  of  educating  the  blind,  of  alleviating  the  troubles  of  the 
unfortunate,  a  satisfaction  that  in  addition  to  providing  educa 
tion  and  opening  to  expanding  minds  the  worlds  of  though!, 
there  was  also  the  casting  of  a  light  upon  paths  already  dark 
with  sadness.  Illuminating  the  future  and  lightening  the 
present  was  indeed  a  work  to  which  a  teacher  could  look  back 
with  profound  satisfaction ! 

When  it  came  to  a  close  by  the  necessities  that  were  draw 
ing  this  man  of  history  towards  the  predestined  future,  Mr. 
Blaine  bid  farewell  to  his  pupils  with  genuine  sorrow.  He 
had  parted  from  the  lads  at  the  Blue  Licks  with  feelings  of  re 
gret.  The  last  days  in  Philadelphia  were  tinged  with  sadness, 
but  the  irresistible  impulse  that  was  drawing  him  by  its  offer 
ing  opportunities  to  something  greater  cut  short  his  career, 
and  in  the  summer  of  1854  he  continued  his  flight  to  the 
North,  journeying  to  the  home  of  his  wife  at  Augusta,  Maine. 
Here  he  found  a  residence  and  a  historic  future. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ELAINE  AS  A  JOURNALIST — THE  MAN  AT  LAST  FINDS  His  FIRST  MISSION— » 
AN  ANTI-SLAVERY  APOSTLE — FIGHTING  THE  ENEMY — THUNDERBOLTS  OK 
INK— A  CHANGE  OF  BASE  TO  PORTLAND. 

THE  capital  of  the  State  of  Maine  was,  in  its  earlier  years, 
a  town  of  somewhat  greater  importance  than  later  de 
cades  have  decided  it  to  be.  It  was  properly  considered  the 
rival  of  Portland  in  all  that  pertained  to  commercial  suprem 
acy.  It  was  even  a  mooted  question  whether  Portland  or 
Augusta  should  in  future  be  the  metropolis  of  the  State ;  but 
that  rule  which  has  almost  become  a  destiny  which  ordained 
that  State  capitals  should  not  be  the  most  important  cities, 
operated  here  as  it  has  elsewhere,  and  Augusta  remained 
stationary  rather  than  progressed.  At  the  time  that  James  G. 
Elaine  settled  in  the  town  this  question,  however,  had  not  yet 
been  decided,  and  an  emulous  rivalry  kept  alive  the  question 
and  stimulated  the  success  of  the  Kennebec  valley. 

This  period,  1850  to  1860,  was  indeed  a  time  of  change,  a 
time  when  men  with  large  eyes  and  clear  insight  into  the 
future  saw  and  did  not  deride  the  coming  storm.  Politics  ab 
sorbed  the  attention  of  everybody  with  an  intensity  that  showed 
how  thoroughly  great  changes  were  soon  to  occur.  There 
were  no  dormant  freemen,  no  men  who  were  content  to  allow 
things  to  "  go  on  as  they  were,"  no  men  who  concluded  the 
country  was  all  right,  and  it  was  not,  therefore,  their  part  to 


52  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

see  that  it  was — no,  every  man  felt  that  the  country  demanded 
his  influence,  and  he  gave  it. 

The  two  great  parties  of  the  time  were  the  Whigs  and  the 
Democrats.  There  were  ominous  movements  in  Congress; 
there  were  doubtful  fears  surrounding  and  darkening  the  doors 
of  the  White  House.  The  Missouri  Compromise,  the  Lecomp- 
ton  Constitution,  the  blood  poured  upon  the  soil  •  of  Kansas, 
the  admission  of  certain  States,  the  triumphs  and  treacheries 
of  the  Whigs,  the  distrusts  and  successes  of  the  Democracy, 
were  the  incidents  of  the  years  just  preceding  Mr.  Blaine's 
entry  into  journalism  and  the  years  just  following. 

I  recall  thus  briefly  the  great  and  involved  issues  of  the 
hour  in  order  that  the  reader  may  see  exactly  what  labor  lay 
before  the  young  journalist  when  he  grasped  his  pen  to  grapple 
with  these  questions  and  to  give  forth  no  uncertain  sound. 
And  it  should  be  remembered  also  that  in  1855  the  attention 
paid  to  the  editorial  and  the  influence  carried  in  the  editorial 
were  far  greater  and  farther-reaching  than  is  possible  to-day, 
in  this  era  of  newspapers  and  not  newspaper  men.  At  that 
time  the  editorial  was  the  personalty  of  the  editor,  to-day  it 
is  only  so  in  the  columns  of  very  few  of  the  existing  journals  ; 
then  the  editor  was  the  real  leader  in  a  fight ;  people  waited  to 
see  what  he  said,  and,  no  matter  the  length  of  his  editorial, 
they  read  it  through  ! 

As  before  stated,  Mr.  Blaine  arrived  in  Augusta  in  the  early 
autumn  of  1854.  At  that  time  the  Kciincbcc  Journal,  the 
leading  paper'  in  the  valley,  was  owned  by  William  IF. 
\\  heeler  and  William  H.  Simpson,  and  was  edited  by  the 
former.  Wheeler  sold  his  interest  to  his  partner,  who  in  turn 
disposed  of  it  to  Joseph  Baker  and  James  G.  Blaine,  Mr.  Blaine 
securing  one-half  interest  through  the  influence  and  means  of 
his  brother-in-law,  Jacob  Stanwood,  of  Augusta.  November 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  53 

loth,  1854,  Messrs.  Baker  and  Elaine  took  possession,  and  in 
an  editorial,  entitled  "  Our  Future  Course,"  they  thus  outlined 
their  intention : 

Politically,  THE  JOURNAL  will  pursue  the  same  course  it  has  marked  out  for 
the  last  two  months.  We  shall  cordially  support  the  Morrill  or  Republican 
party,  the  substantial  principles  of  which  are,  as  we  understand  them  :  freedom, 
temperance,  river  and  harbor  improvement  within  Constitutional  limits,  home 
steads  for  freemen,  and  a  just  administration  of  the  public  lands  of  the  State  and 
nation.  We  shall  advocate  the  cause  of  popular  education  as  the  surest  safe 
guard  of  our  Republican  institutions,  and  especially  the  common  schools  of  the 
State  and  city.  .  .  .  \Ve  shall  devote  a  department  of  our  paper  each  week 
to  religious  intelligence  of  all  kinds,  and  desire  that  our  iriends  of  all  denomina 
tions  will  consider  themselves  invited  freely  to  communicate  anything  in  this 
department  which  they  wish  to  have  made  public,  particularly  notices  of  religious 
conventions,  ordinations  and  meetings  of  such  kind. 

Mr.  Elaine  wielded  a  trenchant  pen  ;  as  an  editor  he  was 
keen,  insistent,  clear,  and  wrote  with  great  force.  His  marked 
personal  qualities,  his  earnestness  and  magnetism,  attached  to 
him  a  large  body  of  acquaintances  and  friends,  and  he  evinced, 
to  a  great  degree,  the  same  qualities  then  that  have  been  st> 
characteristic  of  him  in  recent  years.  His  foes  in  the  sanctum 
found  him  an  enemy  who  never  failed  to  -attack,  and  on  any 
thing  pertaining  to  the  political  history  of  the  country  his 
brilliant  powers  of  stateipentThis  remarkable  memory,  and  the 
force  and  clearness  of  hjs  logic  not  only  evinced  his  strong 
native  powers  and  gave  proof  of  the  intellectual  discipline 
which  he  had  undergone,  but  made  him  a  foeman  worthy  of 
any  man's  steel.  A  remarkable  industry  and  an  intense  appli 
cation  to  whatever  he  had  in  hand  were  strong  characteristics 
of  his  editorial  career.  He  possessed  great  facility  in  getting 
at  all  that  was  transpiring ;  in  his  reading  of  the  exchanges 
and  reviews,  like  a  true  newspaper  man,  he  did  not  seem  to 
read  them  so  much  as  to  absorb  them ;  he  very  quickly  reached 
the  core  of  every  question.  His  style  of  writing  then  was 
very  similar  to  his  style  of  writing  now — clear,  strong,  trench- 


54  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

ant,  always  directly  to  and  at  the  point.  But  rather  than  to 
devote  space  to  characterizing  him,  we  will  let  the  reader  peruse 
the  editorial  lightning  that  flashed  from  his  pen,  in  his  own 
words,  and  from  his  no  uncertain  sentences  draw  a  criticism. 

About  this  time,  early  in  November,  Cassius  M.  Clay 
started  on  a  northern  trip  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  lec 
tures  on  "  The  Existing  Attitude  of  the  General  Government 
in  Relation  to  Slavery."  Mr.  Elaine  suggested  in  the  editor 
ial  columns  of  his  paper  that  Mr.  Clay  should  be  invited  to  ad 
dress  the  people  of  Maine  upon  the  question,  and  thus  charac 
terized  the  man  who  was  to  be  invited  : 

Mr.  Clay  stands  in  the  front  rank  of  the  opponents  of  slavery,  and  hns  taken 
that  position,  not  with  the  applause  of  friends  and  cheers  of  approbation  from 
the  crowd,  but  with  the  loss  of  good  name  at  home  and  the  sundering  cf  many 
personal  ties,  and  even  more,  with  imminent  peril  to  life  and  limb.  He  braves 
it  all  unquailed,  though,  for  he  is  a  man  of  true  moral  heroism  and  undaunted 
personal  bravery.  When  he  first  assumed  his  anti-slavery  position  in  Kentucky, 
they  tried  to  bribe  him  with  office  and  place.  The  Whigs  offered  him  the 
Lieutenant-Governorship,  and  then  a  seat  in  Congress  as  Representative,  with 
the  reversion  of  John  J.  Crittemlen's  Senatorial  chair.  But  lie  scorned  their 
offers,  for  he  was  earnest  and  conscientious  in  his  opposition  to  slavery.  They 
next  tried  force  and  mobbed  his  printing  office  and  carried  off  his  press  to  Cin 
cinnati,  like  brave  men,  while  Clay  was  confined  to  his  room  with  serious  illness ; 
and  when  all  these  demonstrations  were  ineffectual,  they  resorted  to  personal 
violence  and  hired  assassins  to  seek  his  blood — but  all  in  vain  ;  he  has  con 
quered  even  in  Kentucky,  and  is  stronger  this  day  than  at  any  other  time  of  his 
life. 

As  a  speaker,  Mr.  Clay  is  very  earnest  and  persuasive;  not  polished  either  in 
manner  or  diction,  but  still  irresistibly  pleasing.  He  speaks  from  the  soul,  and 
the  moment  you  hear  him,  you  are  assured  that  he  gives  utterance  only  to  what 
he  knows  and  feels  to  be  the  truth  and  the  cause  of  human  freedom. 

Mr.  Clay  is  a  man  of  fine  personel,  in  the  early  prime  of  life — being  only  a 
few  years  on  the  shady  side  of  forty,  and,  but  for  his  full  suit  of  gray,  readily 
passing  for  ten  years  younger.  He  resembles  ex-Vice-Presidcnt  Dallns,  who 
always  ranked  as  the  finest-looking  man  on  Pennsylvania  avenue.  Should  any 
Lyceum  take  our  hint  and  desire  to  extend  him  an  invitation,  he  can  be  ad 
dressed  at  Richmond,  Madi>on  county,  Ky  ,  his  residence,  or  at  Cincinnati, 
where  he  is  largely  engaged  in  business  as  a  private  banker. 

I  don't  know  whether  Mr.  Clay  came  to  Augusta  to 
animate  the  brave  hearts  in  the  Kennebec  Valley,  but  it  did 
not  need  Mr.  Clay's  impassioned  eloquence  to  arouse  the 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  57 

Kennebec  editor  to  the  proper  sense  of  the  great  issue.  At  the 
close  of  December,  when  the  shadows  of  the  waning  year 
were  chasing  over  the  land,  Mr.  Elaine  raised  his  voice, 
couched  his  lance,  and  struck  boldly  at  the  head  of  the 
Iniquity  under  the  title  of  "  Slavery  in  Indiana."  He  thus 
spoke : 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  a  Legislature  which  would  send  John  Pettit  to 
the  United  States  Senate  would  perform  any  other  mean  act  which  a  dishonest 
cupidity  might  instigate  or  suggest.  Accordingly  it  was  reserved  for  that  same 
honorable  body  to  enact  a  law  m  regard  to  the  colored  citizens  of  their  State, 
most  oppressive  in  its  daily  operations,  and  most  disgraceful  from  the  motives  and 
reasons  which  induced  its  passage.  Let  us  give  a  brief  history  of  it. 

Railroad  connection  between  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  Cincinnati  has  long  been  a 
desideratum,  and  would  years  since  have  been  accomplished  but  for  a  jealousy 
which  existed  on  the  part  of  both  cities  as  to  which  side  of  the  Ohio  river  the  road 
should  be  built  on.  For  commercial  reasons,  each  city  and  section  desired  it 
should  be  on  their  side,  while  the  Kentuckians  had  an  additional  objection 
to  its  going  on  the  Northern  side  of  the  river  in  the  fact  that  a  facility  would  be 
thereby  afforded  for  the  escape  of  their  slaves.  They  demanded  some  security 
against  this  terrible  danger,  and  the  Indiana  Legislature — quick  "  to  crook  the 
pregnant  hinges  of  the  knee  that  thrift  might  follow  fawning" — immediately  re 
sponded  to  the  desire  of  their  Kentucky  neighbors  by  annexing  a  condition  to 
the  chartcT  of  the  railroad  company  that  no  colored  person  should  be  admitted  as 
a  passenger  in  their  cars  unless  he  produce  evidence  of  his  freedom. 

The  following  account  of  a  recent  case  under  the  law,  clipped  from  an  ex 
change,  will  briefly  explain  its  operation  and  the  odious  construction  by  which 
it  is  sustained  : 

"A  colored  man  in  Indiana  lately  brought  suit  before  a  magistrate  against  the 
Jefferson ville  Railroad  Company  because  they  refused  to  admit  him  to  the  cars  as 
a  passenger  until  he  produced  evidence  of  his  freedom.  The  justice  awarded  him 
twenty  dollars  damages,  but  the  company  appealed  to  the  Circuit  Court  of  Clarke 
county,  and  a  few  days  ago  the  decision  was  reversed.  The  court  (which  is  a 
free  State  tribunal)  held,  although  the  legal  presumption  is  that  all  persons  are 
free,  yet  the  fact  being  that  some  colored  persons  are  not  I ree,  it  is  reasonable 
that  the  matter  should  be  settled  in  each  case  at  the  time  the  colored  person  ap 
plies  for  his  seat." 

Could  any  argument,  pretending  to  the  dignity  of  a  ground  for  legal  decision, 
be  more  shallow  or  more  disgraceful?  Admitting,  as  the  judge  does,  that  free 
dom  must  be  the  presumed  state  of  every  man,  he  offsets  all  advantages  arising 
from  that  presumption  by  adding  that  as  some  colored  persons  are  not  free,  it  is 
reasonable  that  the  matter  should  be  settled  in  each  case.  What  is  the  presump 
tion  worth  if  it  must  be  sustained  every  time  by  positive  evidence  ? 

Such  legislation  is  in  strong  contrast  with  the  course  pursued  by  the  Ohio  Leg 
islature  in  1847,  when  the  subject  of  granting  to  a  company  the  right  to  construct 
a  bridge  across  the  Ohio  river,  at  Cincinnati,  came  before  them.  The  Kentucky 
Legislature,  from  whom  the  right  had  been  obtained,  so  far  as  they  could  grant 

4 


58  HON.    JAMES    CJ.    ELAINE. 

it,  had  cumbered  the  charter  with  such  restrictions  in  regard  to  colored  people  a 
made  the  Cincinnati  company  and  all  tin  ir  agents  regular  slave  catchers.  Bu 
one  honorable  course  was  left  to  the  Ohio  Legislature,  and  they  followed  it  mar 
fully.  They  refused  tne  charter  and  reprobated  in  strong  terms,  expressed  i 
special  resolution,  any  act  that  would  so  far  compromise  the  honor  and  dignit 
of  a  great  free  State.  Would  that  their  example  had  made  a  deeper  impressio 
on  their  neighbors  of  Inuiana.  But  we  conless  that  we  expect  little  from  thy 
free  State  which  will  keep  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  a  notorious  slave 
holder,  Jesse  D.  Bright,  and  a  still  more  notorious  blackguard,  John  Pettit.  W 
are  really  afraid  that  their  repudiation  of  the  Nebraska  treachery  was  only 
spasmodic  effort,  to  be  followed  by  a  lithargic  supineness  more  fatal  than  actua 
wrong-doing. 

In  the  same  issue  of  the  Journal  he  discussed,  under  th< 
title  of  "The  Permanency  of  the  Republican  Party,"  the  influ 
ences  that  irresistibly  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Republicai 
party,  and  with  almost  prophetic  eye  he  foretold  what  tha 
party  was  destined  to  accomplish  and  for  which  it  was  mani 
festly  fit.  He  said  : 

The  whole  history  of  parties  and  opinions  in  the  United  States  conclusive!; 
demonstrates  that  they  are  of  slow  growth,  and  the  result  of  much  toilsome  effor 
and  patient  seed-growing.  From  the  adoption  of  the  American  Constitution  ii 
1789  to  1801  the  same  class  of  political  opinions  were  predominant  in  this  gov 
ernment,  and  Washington  and  the  elder  Adams  were  their  exponents.  Ther 
there  was  a  revolution,  and  the  Jeffersonian  class  was  inaugurated  and  continuec 
more  than  twenty-five  years,  till  the  opposition  completely  died  out.  Then  ii 
1829  the  dynasty  of  Andrew  Jackson  commenced,  and,  with  only  slight  deviations 
has  continued  for  about  twenty-five  years  to  the  present  time,  till  nearly  ever; 
principle  which  was  originated  under  his  administration  has  become  the  settlei 
and  permanent  judgment  of  the  country  and  been  incorporated  into  its  histor; 
and  practice.  Time  and  experience  have  demonstrated  their  wisdom,  or  tin 
elastic  spirit  of  the  American  people  has  closed  over  their  scars,  and  all  oppo>i 
tion  to  them  has  gradually  died  out,  and  tliey  have  ceased  to  be  issues  of  thi 
present  day.  In  the  mean  time,  ami  ext-.'ndmg  back  about  twenty  years,  nev 
issues  have  sprung  up.  Certain  nrnds  in  the  free  States  began  to  feel  the  over 
whelming  influence  of  slavery  in  the  government  and  to  IK  hold  the  dispropor 
donate  power  it  wielded  in  the  election  and  appointment  of  the  highest  officer 
in  the  gift  of  the  people,  and  were  alarmed  at  it.  They  began  to  raise  thei 
voices  of  remonstrance  against  it  through  the  press,  the  pnlpit,  and  forum.  It  wa 
but  a  small  beginning,  but  the  men  who  conceived  the  anti-slavery  enterprisi 
were  not  to  be  daunted  by  the  vastness  of  the  evil  they  had  attacked  or  the  sneer 
and  opprobrium  that  were  heaped  upon  them,  but  with  firm  hearts  and  unquaiiing 
faith  they  toiled  on,  in  the  morning  sowing  the  seed  and  at  evening  withholding 
not  their  hand.  At  first  they  used  only  the  power  of  argument  and  facts,  but  b} 
and  by  the  time  came  to  carry  this  question  to  the  ballot  box  and  to  wield  its  om 
nipotence  to  advance  their  cause.  This  w.is  in  184:).  And  thence  taking  a  new 


HON.    JAMES    n.    BLAINE.  59 

impulse,  the  movement  went  on,  growing  little  by  little  by  small  accretions  as 
the  coral  builds  its  mighty  reefs,  till  the  anti-slavery  sentiment  had  permeated 
and  filled  every  vein  and  artery,  and  incorporated  itself  into  the  whole  moral 
constitution  of  the  free  States.  While  this  process  was  advancing  on  the  one 
hand,  the  slave  power — as  if  to  illustrate  the  principle  of  the  ancients,  "  whom 
the  gods  wish  to  destroy  they  first  make  mad" — became,  on  the  other  hand,  more 
and  more  desperate  in  its  demand,  and,  by  the  aid  of  Northern  subserviency, 
pushed  its  schemes  of  subjugation  from  conquest  to  conquest  over  the  rights  and 
equalities  of  the  North  till  at  last  they  culminated  in  the  Nebraska  act,  that 
measure  of  stupendous  wrong  and  perfidy.  Then  it  was  that  all  the  anti-slavery 
seeds  which  twenty  years  of  toil,  sacrifice,  and  patience  had  disseminated  through 
the  public  mind  burst  out  into  an  irrepressible  flame.  The  people  had  restrained 
these  sentiments  for  a  long  time,  in  hopes  that  the  evil  would  cease  without  vio 
lent  remedies.  They  had  endured  the  compromise  of  1850,  bitter  as  it  was,  the 
infamous  fugitive  slave  act,  and  all;  but  at  last  endurance  had  ceased  to  be  a 
virtue,  and  they  could  endure  no  longer.  They  could  no  longer  smother  the 
flame  of  liberty  that  was  burning  in  their  breasts,  and  that,  as  the  Mercury  says, 
"arises  from  the  deepest-rooted  feelings  and  principles"  of  their  natures,  and 
can  never  go  back  any.  more  than  the  water  of  Niagara,  that  has  once  plunged 
over  the  precipice,  can  go  back.  It  must  live  in  the  hearts  it  now  animates.  Its 
growth  has  been  slow — twenty  long  years ;  its  decay  will  be  equally  slow.  The 
great  Republican  party  that  has  suddenly  developed  itself  on  the  political  thea 
tre,  embodying  the  anti-slavery  sentiment  of  the  country  as  its  leading  character 
istic,  when  considered  in  its  natural  elements,  in  its  history  and  progress,  or  in 
the  light  of  experience,  has  every  appearance  of  permanency  and  progress. 

It  does  not,  as  the  Mercury  intimates,  foreshadow  the  dissolution  of  the  Union, 
but  its  salvation.  The  slave  States  will  never  dissolve  the  Union.  They  have 
too  great  a  stake  in  its  preservation,  for  the  arm  of  the  Federal  government  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  keep  them  from  insurrection  and  massacre  by  the  mil 
lions  of  slaves  now  groaning  under  the  accursed  lash.  But  dissolution,  if  it  ever 
come,  must  come  from  the  free  States,  stript  of  their  rights  and  degraded  in  the 
government,  as  they  have  been  for  the  last  twenty  years,  and  goaded  on  to  des 
peration  by  a  continuance  and  perpetual  repetition  of  these  aggressions.  The 
Union  will  be  saved  by  arresting  the  gigantic  strides  of  the  slave  power  towards 
political  supremacy,  driving  it  back  into  its  legitimate  sphere  and  restoring  to 
the  North  its  just  and  equal  rights.  But  that  the  other  alternative,  mentioned  by 
the  Mercury,  may  not  in  the  end  result  from  the  permanent  dominion  of  the  Re 
publican  party  we  are  not  prepared  to  deny;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  the  hope  of 
many  an  earnest  heart,  that  beats  the  warmest  in  this  glorious  movement,  that 
God  in  his  wise  Providence  will  make  it  the  instrumentality  of  the  final  "  ex 
tinction  of  slavery"  in  this  Republic.  In  this  hope  we  live  and  labor,  and  will 
labor  while  we  live,  believing  that  a  country  redeemed  from  the  shame  and  curse 
of  slavery,  purified  and  restored  to  the  Republicanism  of  its  palmy  days  will  be 
the  richest  legacy  we  can  leave  to  posterity.  Drive  rum  as  a  beve^ge  from  all 
the  avenues  of  society;  place  the  tide  of  foreign  immigration  that  is  pouring  in 
upon  us  with  such  fearful  power  under  proper  restrictions  and  in  a  course  of  edu 
cation  that  shall  prepare  it,  as  the  American  citizen  is  now  prepared,  for  the  high 
functions  of  freedom ;  strike  the  fetters  froiri  the  limb  of  every  slave  that 
breathes  in  all  this  vast  domain,  so  that,  from  centre  to  circumference,  only  the 
glad  shout  of  liberty  shall  be  heard,  and  the  smile  of  Providence  will  bless  this 


] 


CO  HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

land  as  it  never  has  been  blessed,  and  the  tide  of  national  prosperity  and  true 
glory  shall  roll  on  from  generation  to  generation  while  time  shall  last. 

At  New  Year,  1855,  Mr.  Joseph  Baker,  having  tired  of  the 
business  management  of  the  Journal  and  desiring  to  prosecute 
his  other  business  enterprises,  sold  his  share  of  the  paper  to 
Mr.  John  L.  Stephens,  with  whom  Mr.  Elaine  immediately 
formed  a  partnership.  In  the  issue  of  the  5th  of  January  of 
that  year  the  new  proprietors  announced  the  change  and 
printed  their  pledges.  Over  their  signatures  they  stated  that 
the  Journal  would  be  "  devoted  honestly  and  wisely  to  the 
great  cause  of  Republicanism,  advocating  those  particulars  of 
freedom  and  temperance  upon  which  the  good  of  the  people 
and  the  best  hopes  of  the  State  so  essentially  depend.  With 
what  ability  or  what  success  we  may  labor  we  shall  leave 
others  to  judge — we  can  only  pledge  honest  impulses  and 
faithful  endeavors." 

Mr.  Blaine  continued  in  the  editorial  chair  as  before,  and 
undertook  the  reporting  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Senate,  of 
Maine  for  the  tri-weekly  issue  of  the  Journal.  In  these  re 
ports  his  faculty  of  writing  and  condensing  were  as  manifest 
as  in  his  editorials.  He  was  cognizant  of  everything  that  was 
transpiring  in  the  Legislature,  and  had  a  complete  mastery  of 
all  its  details.  He  seemed  to  have  a  clear  appreciation  and 
understanding  of  financial  questions  and  business  enterprises, 
of  the  practical  details  of  a  printing  establishment,  of  rail 
roads,  banks,  manufacturing  and  agriculture.  He  never  re 
leased  his  hold  upon  the  editorial  pen.  The  rapidly  following 
events  of  the  times  gave  him  great  scope.  Everything  bore 
on  politics,  and  from  the  torrent  of  living  English  which  he 
poured  out  at  that  time  I  take  a  bright  spray  from  .his  issue 
of  February  14,  1855.  The  head-line  is  "  William  II.  Seward," 
and  Editor  Blaine  says : 


HON.   JAMES   G.   BLAINE.  63 

The  prayer  of  the  freemen  is  answered.  A  question  of  the  highest  importance, 
the  right  decision  of  which  for  months  has  excited  the  deepest  solicitude, 
has  been  solved  to  the  joy  of  patriotic  Americans  and  for  the  welfare  of  the 
public.  By  the  force  of  his  own  character  as  a  man  and  a  statesman,  and  of  the 
moral  and  political  principles  which  he  represented  and  in  him  centred,  William 
H.  Seward  has  been  re-elected  to  the  American  Senate  by  the  State  which  in 
her  earlier  days  gave  the  nation  a  Clinton,  a  Livingston,  a  Jay,  a  Hamilton, 
and  which  now  with  her  population,  her  resources  and  strength  increased  twenty- 
fold,  bears  up  in  her  arms  freedom's  great  leader  against  traitors  at  home  and 
storms  of  relentless  opposition  from  abroad.  The  heart  of  the  nation  throbs  at 
the  event  which,  amid  exultation  and  congratulations,  lightning  and  steam  are 
announcing  to  the  true  men  of  this  whole  continent  and  of  the  civilized  world. 
The  contest  through  which  he  has  passed  is  without  parallel  in  the  history  of 
this  country.  We  have  waited  until  the  clouds  of  the  conflict  were  passing 
away  and  the  cannon  of  rejoicing  had  ceased,  to  express  our  exultant  gratitude 
at  the  event  to  which  we  have  looked  forward  vvith  the  strongest  hope  and  in 
regard  to  which,  for  a  brief  hour,  we  had  fears.  It  was  our  fortune  to  be  in 
New  York  City  last  October  when  the  Ulman  Convention  had  its  session.  Ming 
ling  quietly  with  the  throngs  that  crowded  the  hotels  from  all  parts  of  the  Em 
pire  State,  we  learned  much  of  the  real  purpose  of  the  men  who  controlled  the 
deliberations  and  plans  of  that  Convention.  We  became  satisfied  that  the  guid 
ing  purpose  of  the  combinations  there  made  was  not  love  for  American  prin 
ciples,  not  reform  in  the  naturalization  laws,  but  the  defeat  of  Myron  H.  Clark, 
and  through  that  result  the  political  annihilation  of  William  H.  Seward.  Hards, 
Softs,  and  Silver  Grays  joined  hands,  with  nothing  else  to  unite  them  but  indif 
ference  to  freedom  and  a  common  hatred  of  its  leading  champion.  We  saw  thatv 
the  influence  of  tens  of  thousands  of  good  men  was  to  be  converted  to  uses  for 
eign  to  true  American  principles,  and,  if  successful,  disastrous  to  the  position 
which  New  York  holds  among  her  sister  States,  in  respect  to  that  great  issue  now 
before  us,  whether  freedom  or  slavery  shall  rule  the  destiny  of  this  nation. 

Reviewing  the  field  we  saw  that  nothing  but  Mr.  Seward's  naked  strength  and 
the  devotion  of  the  people  of  the  Empire  State  to  him  and  to  his  principles  could 
rescue  him  from  the  combined  array  against  him.  We  watched  the  contest  with 
the  deepest  solicitude.  Four  months  have  passed.  The  coalition  of  wickedness 
culminated.  The  battle  is  over.  The  great  American  statesman  is  unscathed,  and 
now  occupies  a  prouder  elevation  before  his  countrymen  than  ever  before,  and  a 
screner  and  broader  future  is  his  secure.  Never  since  the  establishment  of  the 
Republic  has  there  been  a  greater  necessity  for  a  leading  statesman  of  far-seeing 
vision,  of  heroic,  unyielding  will,  of  courage  that  no  threat  or  danger-  can 
blanch,  of  genius  to  organize  and  guide.  God's  necessity  in  the  affairs  of  men  is 
always  realized  in  history.  We  trust  the  friends  of  Mr.  Seward  will  not  mis 
understand  the  cause  and  the  meaning  of  his  triumph.  His  election  is  not  the 
success  or  the  defeat  of  the  old  political  organizations.  His  bitterest  and  ablest 
foes  are  among  those  who  claim  to  belong  to  the  party  with  which  he  labored 
from  its  formation  to  the  hour  of  its  final  overthrow.  Many  of  his  ablest  and 
most  devoted  friends  and  supporters  have  belonged  to  the  Democratic  party.  In 
reality  his  election  has  been  secured  by  that  party  which  has  been  gathering 
numbers  and  strength  from  all  former  organizations,  which  has  arisen  a  young 
giant,  soon  to  be  the  Hercules  to  drive  the  monsters  from  the  national  capital 
and  trample  under  its  feet  tjhe  serpent  and  vipers  which  have  alarmed  and  bitten 


64  HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

the  sons  of  liberty  and  poisoned  and  checked  the  growth  of  the  best  plants  of 
American  civilization.  Not  as  the  champion  of  an  effete  aijd  a  rapidly  dis 
solving  party,  but  as  a  great  statesman  and  sworn  defender  of  freedom  and  the 
Union  he  finds  congenial  fellowship  with  Chase,  Sumner,  Wade,  Fessenden, 
Hamlin,  King,  Johnson,  Wilson,  Strong,  Hall,  Durkee  and  that  whole  school 
of  vigorous  and  determined  men  of  common  blood  and  aim,  who  are  by  the  will 
of  God  and  the  people  to  make  it  historical  fact,  ere  1860,  that  slavery  is  sec 
tional  and  temporary,  that  freedom  is  national  and  universal,  and  that  American 
principles  shall  rule  to  the  exclusion  of  ideas  and  elements  which  had  their 
birth  amid  the  feudal  institutions  and  the  despotism  of  the  old  world. 

Turning  from  this  expression  of  his  high-wrought  feelings, 
I  choose,  as  if  in  contrast,  in  showing  the  delight  with  which 
Mr.  Elaine  employed  the  power  of  sarcasm;  an  editorial 
entitled  "  Close  of  Congress,"  which  graced  the  Journal  of 
March  7,  of  this  same  year.  Every  one  of  my  readers  will 
greet  it  with  a  smile  of  recognition  as  it  is  brought  to  mind 
how  often  the  same  sentiment  has  been  voiced  since  that  day, 
thirty-one  years  ago. 

The  first  days  of  March  have  been  auspicious,  not  alone  as  indicating  a  pleas 
ant  spring  and  a  favorable  season  for  the  husbandman,  but  they  come  loaded  with 
providential  blessings  to  the  American  people  in  that  they  give  riddance  to  that 
body  of  men  whom,  by  the  necessities  of  the  case,  we  must  denominate  the 
Thirty-third  Congress  of  the  United  States.  It  is  an  event  that  should  give  ihe 
nation  mingled  feelings  of  shame  and  rejoicing — shame  that  the  free  suffrages  of 
the  people  should  have  elected  to  high  and  solemn  trusts  men  so  wanting  in 
right  qualification,  true  patriotism  and  elevated  characters  as  a  majority  of  that 
body  has  shown  itself — rejoicing  that  it  is  beyond  their  power  longer  to  disgrace 
the  capitol  by  their  corruptions,  their  reckless  audacity,  and  their  conspiracies 
against  liberty  and  the  broadest  and  best  interests  of  the  Union.  If  the  people 
of  England  had  reason  for  joy  when  Oliver  Cromwell  drove  the  rump  Parlia 
ment  out  of  doors  and  told  its  members  to  begone  to  their  homes,  how  much 
more  should  the  citizens  of  free  America  manifest  their  pleasure  that  time  in  its 
long-suffering  mercy  had  put  an  end  to  the  power  of  the  men  who  have  violated 
solemn  compacts,  struck  down  the  sacred  land-marks  established  by  the  fathers 
of  the  Republic,  and  committed  the  government  of  the  country  to  the  principles 
and  policy  of  a  despotism  worthy  of  Rome  in  her  darkest  days.  A  Congress 
that  passed  the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  bill,  and  gave  so  many  proofs  of  a  want  of 
elevated  patriotism  as  the  one  just  terminated,  would  have  been  ready  to  elect  a 
monarch  or  surrender  the  Republic  for  an  empire,  if  surrounded  by  circumstances 
and  pressed  by  events  favoring  the  exchange.  How  much  of  infamy  belongs  to 
the  existing  National  Administration  we  need  not  now  affirm.  Enough  and 
dark  as  night  is  the  part  for  which  God  and  history  will  hold  it  responsible. 
Two  long  years  more  we  must  endure  its  power  and  its  debasement,  though  it  may 
be  hoped  that  a  righteous  discipline  and  the  nerve  and  high  resolves  of  the  new 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  65 

Republican  House  of  Representatives  may  keep  it  from  going  further  down 
those  deeps  to  which  its  present  animus  and  impetus  would  carry  it.  But  our 
remarks  now  respect  the  termination  of  the  Thirty-third  Congress.  Only  of  that 
can  we  say  our  sorrows  are  past.  How  many  and  deep  these  sorrows — how 
much  the  nation  has  lost  by  the  littleness  and  want  of  political  justice  and  true 
statesmanship  on  the  part  of  the  controlling  majority  of  the  Congress  just  closed, 
posterity  and  the  future  historian  alone  can  tell.  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the 
evil  thereof.  Our  hope  for  the  future  is  that  the  evil  will  cure  itself;  that  the 
wickedness  has  culminated  and  the  reaction  is  fast  bringing  the  control  of  the 
nation  into  purer  and  stronger  hands.  Did  we  not  so  hope,  we  should  regard 
the  days  of  the  Republic  numbered.  For  such  utter  defiance  of  the  laws  of  hu 
manity  ;  such  prostitution  of  solemn  trust  and  opportunities ;  such  open  and  un 
blushing  violations  of  the  spirit  and  intent  of  our  American  institutions,  unless 
arrested  by  the  might  of  the  people's  will  and  the  strong  arms  of  patriotic  states 
men,  must  end  in  the  nation's  night  and  desolation.  In  speaking  as  we  have  of 
the  majority  of  Congress  just  passed  from  power,  of  course  we  design  no  reflec 
tion  on  those  true  men  who  have  stood  up  manfully  against  threats  and  bribes  in 
the  defense  of  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  ;  sacred  engagements  and  the  assaulted 
and  scouted  principles  of  liberty  and  humanity,  on  which  the  Republic  is  based, 
and  in  love  of  which  only  it  can  endure.  All  praise  to  that  noble  band  whose 
names  we  need  not  call.  The  nation  will  remember  them.  An  approving  con 
stituency  will  receive  them  warmly  to  their  homes  and  give  them  the  meed  of 
approbation  for  labors  well  performed  and  solemn  trusts  faithfully  held. 

A  week  previously,  the  young  editor,  who  had  already  won 
his  spurs,  and  whose  utterances  were  waited  for  with  consid 
erable  impatience  and  sometimes  no  little  fear,  had  given  us 
in  mosaic,  a  picture  of  the  start  of  -the  Republican  party  in 
Maine  on  its  really  first  great  race.  Mr.  Elaine  said : 

It  can  no  longer  be  questioned  that  we  have  in  Maine  a  well-organized  and 
powerful  party,  which  shares  the  sympathies  and  influence  of  a  decided  majority 
of  the  people.  That  radical  and  permanent  causes  have  been  operating  for  years 
to  bring  about  the  present  condition  of  things,  is  so  well  known  as  to  need  no 
repetition.  Ignored  and  resisted,  as  those  causes  were,  by  selfish  schemers,  per 
sonal  aims,  and  the  force  of  old  party  watch-words,  they  increased  yearly  in  breadth 
and  strength,  until  they  have  become  one  resistless  current  of  public  opinion,  fed 
by  the  various  springs  of  moral  and  patriotic  feelings,  which  are  so  fresh  and 
healthful  in  the  social  soil  of  Maine,  on  which  the  ship  of  State  is  fairly  launched, 
with  the  flags  of  Temperance,  Freedom,  and  American  enterprise  waving  proudly 
at  the  mast-head.  The  Republican  party,  therefore,  is  not  the  creation  of  a  few 
individuals,  or  the  result  of  tactics;  it  is  the  production  of  moral  ideas  which 
have  vegetated  in  the  consciences  arid  hearts  of  the  people.  It  is  pre-eminently 
the  child  of  ideas  and  of  the  people.  Strong  as  these  ideas  and  their  friends  had 
shown  themselves  in  the  political  efforts  of  the  two  or  three  years  past,  old  poli 
tical  organizations  had  prevented  the  union  of  men  of  like  principles  in  one  well- 
organized  party.  The  men  were  called  by  different  names,  yet  they  had  a  com 
mon  faith  and  common  purposes.  Their  principle  needed  expression  in  a  common 


66  HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

platform.  The  people  desired  one  political  family  and  one  organization.  Right, 
expediency,  and  necessity  called  for  a  Convention.  What  time  more  opportune  and 
appropriate  than  the  birthday  of  Washington!  So  ready  were  the  people  for  ac 
tion,  so  manifest  the  necessity,  that  a  long  notice  was  not  required.  The  Con 
vention  of  the  Twenty-second  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  interesting 
that  ever  assembled  in  our  State.  The  numbers  in  attendance  were  very  large — 
not  less  than  nine  or  ten  hundred.  It  was  composed  of  the  true  and  influential 
portion  of  the  people  from  all  parts  of  the  State.  Its  members  came  in  due  pro 
portion  from  all  the  former  political  parties,  in  names  of  long-established  reputa 
tion  and  worth,  known  in  the  State  and  out  of  it ;  in  men  possessing  the  confi 
dence  and  representing  the  convictions  of  their  respective  vicinities,  no  political 
assemblage  ever  held  in  the  State  surpassed  the  one  of  last  week.  No  body  of 
men  could  be  more  united  in  opinion  and  res  ilution.  The  enthusiasm  manifested 
was  not  a  sudden  and  transitory  feeling,  but  was  the  result  of  a  calm,  yet  intense 
conviction  that  a  new  era  had  arrived  in  the  politics  of  the  State  and  the  Nation, 
that  high  and  solemn  duties  are  now  devolving  on  our  citizens.  The  resolutions 
and  the  speeches  indicated  the  spirit  and  the  purpose  of  the  Republican  party. 
The  remarks  of  Edward  Kent,  the  President  of  the  Convention,  on  taking  the 
chair,  were  able,  well-timed,  and  square  up  to  the  faith  and  determination  of  a 
large  majority  of  the  people  of  the  State,  at  the  present  time.  As  to  the  candi 
date  for  nomination,  there  was  but  one  opinion.  There  is  one  man,  who  by  his 
past  course,  his  principles  and  his  devotion  to  them,  his  courage  and  iron-willed 
resolution  at  the  right  time,  has  so  endeared  himself  to  a  majority  of  the  people 
that  the  Republicans  demanded  his  nomination  with  an  enthusiasm  which  could 
not  well  be  surpassed.  Rightfully,  by  popular  will,  is  Anson  P.  Merrill  to  be  the 
candidate  of  the  Republicans  next  September.  Even  against  his  strongest  per 
sonal  wishes,  the  friends  of  Temperance,  Freedom,  and  truly  American  ideas, 
would  demand  that  he  should  be  their  standard-bearer.  As  to  the  principles  of 
the  platform,  expressed  by  the  Resolutions,  we  trust  they  will  meet  the  wannest 
approval  of  all  true  Republicans.  They  are  plainly  in  consonance  with  our  po 
sition  as  the  people  of  a  Free  State,  with  our  constitutional  rights  and  our  rela 
tions  to  the  Union.  They  recognize  the  laws  of  God,  Liberty  and  Humanity,  as 
above,  yet  not  in  conflict,  but  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of  the  State  and  all  al 
lowable  laws  of  the  Nation.  They  demand  that  the  people,  and  not  the  three 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  nobles,  shall  control  the  Government  of  the  country. 
They  demand  that  the  freedom,  intelligence,  moral  interests,  enterprise,  labor, 
and  property  of  twenty  millions  of  citizens  shall  be  the  controlling  force  of  the 
Government,  instead  of  an  audacious,  haughty,  and  demoralized  class  who  con 
stitute  less  than  one-sixtieth  of  the  nation.  The  doctrines  of  the  Resolutions 
may  strongly  resemble  the  Whig  doctrines  of  the  American  Revolution.  They 
may  be  like  the  Democratic  ideas  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  They  express  the  prin 
ciples  and  the  settled  determination  of  the  Republicans  of  Maine,  and,  as  we  be 
lieve,  of  that  great  and  truly  national  party  which  is  so  rapidly  gathering  num 
bers,  strength  and  prestige,  which  is  to  march  into  power  in  1856,  and  bring  the 
Government  back  to  the  purity  and  the  ideas  of  its  founders,  and  thus  demon 
strate  to  the  world  that  the  American  people  have  not  forgotten  their  history,  are 
nut  blind  to  what  should  be  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  American  destiny. 

The  warfare  that  Mr.  Blaine  was  waging  against  slavery  in  any 
and  every  form  never  knew  a  moment's  cessation ;  every  issue 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  6/ 

of  his  paper  contained  some  biting  allusions  to  the  history 
that  was  then  making.  The  troubles  of  bleeding  Kansas  drew 
from  his  pen  in  the  middle  of  March,  1855,  the  following: 

The  opening  spring  and  coming  summer  will  be  important  and  exciting  eras 
in  the  history  of  Kansas  Territory,  and  will  probably  witness  the  close  of  the 
struggle  which  is  to  consign  that  fine  land  to  the  curse  of  human  slavery  or  ded 
icate  it  forever  to  freedom.  The  newspapers  established  at  different  points  in  the 
territory  are  already  waging  war  fiercely — the  free  press  battling  manfully  for  the 
rights  of  humanity,  and  the  slave  press  as  earnestly,  if  not  as  ably  and  honestly, 
working  for  the  introduction  and  permanent  engrafiment  of  the  "  peculiar  institu 
tion."  The  pro-slavery  party  are  very  bitter  against  Governor  Reeder.  They 
cannot  forgive  him  for  showing  the  impulses  of  an  honest  heart  and  the  courage 
of  a  bold  one  in  the  stand  he  took  in  regard  to  the  frauds  practised  in  the  elec 
tion  of  congressional  delegate  last  fall.  They  find  to  their  sore  discomfiture  that 
in  the  governor  they  have  "caught  a  tartar"  when  they  were  least  looking  for 
one.  Identified  as  Reeder  always  was  in  Pennsylvania  with  the  hardest  of  the 
hard-shell  Democrats,  and  appointed  to  his  present  place  at  the  solicitation  and 
by  the  influence  of  Senator  Broadhead,  who  voted  in  favor  of  the  Nebraska  bill, 
the  Southern  party  thought  they  had  secured  the  game  in  their  own  hands  when 
such  a  man  was  selected  for  governor.  Such  also  we  know  was  the  prevalent 
belief  in  Pennsylvania  at  the  time  of  Reeder's  appointment.  The  more  credit, 
therefore,  is  due  to  him  for  breaking  away  from  the  corrupt  influences  which 
pressed  upon  him  and  coming  out  boldly  in  favor  of  freedom. 

Atchison,  who  is  the  recognized  leader  of  the  pro-slavery  forces,  is  again  in 
the  Territory  attending  to  the  spring  elections,  and  using  all  his  efforts  to  have 
them  carried,  as  they  were  in  the  past  autumn,  by  the  imported  desperadoes  of 
M'ssouri.  As  an  offset  to  these  adverse  forces  we  have  encouraging  accounts  of 
the  success  of  the  emigration  societies,  who  have  great  hopes  of  throwing  into 
the  Territory  during  the  approaching  summer  a  sufficient  number  of  earnest  North 
ern  freemen  to  counterbalance  all  the  corrupt  influence  of  the  Missouri  frontiers 
men  and  to  outvote  them  at  the  election  in  the  fall.  A  party  of  seventy-six  left 
Boston  on  the  6th  inst.,  and  are  already  in  the  Territory.  A  much  larger  party, 
though  we  do  not  know  the  exact  number,  was  to  have  left  on  Tuesday,  to  be 
followed  by  a  third  on  Friday.  These  emigrants  will  meet  large  numbers  from 
the  States  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio,  who  will  reach  the  Territory 
even  in  advance  of  them,  and  unite  cordially  with  them  in  their  labors  in  behalf 
of  freedom.  These  emigration  societies  form  the  strong  lever  with  which  the 
North  must  work  to  keep  the  slave  power  from  our  Territories.  They  deserve  at 
our  hands  aid  and  encouragement — not  that  we  would  advise  any  one  to  leave 
our  own  good  State  or  a  comfortable  home  and  prosperous  business  elsewhere, 
but  merely  to  direct  those  who  are  already  seeking  a  location  in  the  far  West  to 
the  fertile  plains  of  Kansas,  where,  with  unexcelled  opportunities  for  improving 
their  personal  condition,  they  will  find  also  the  largest  field  for  benefiting  their 
fellow-men  by  assisting  in  the  foundation  of  a  great  and  free  State. 

I  have  not  space  to  follow  Mr.  Elaine's  career  as  an  editor 


63 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 


with  anything  like  the  closeness  that  I  could  wish.  He  wrote 
so  much  and  wrote  so  well  that  the  difficulty  is  not  what  to 
put  in  this  volume,  but  what  to  leave  out.  We  have,  however, 
sampled  fairly  his  style  and  the  nervous  force  of  his  diction, 
no  less  than  the  directness  of  his  attack  and  the  earnestness 
of  his  purpose.  f 

Finding  that  the  remuneration  of  his  position  was  not  suffi 
cient  to  keep  his  family  and  himself  as  they  should  be  kept, 
he  not  being  able  to  reach  a  thousand  dollars  a  year  as  a  mat 
ter  of  salary,  he  decided  in  the  summer  of  1858  to  accept  the 
editorial  chair  of  the  Portland  Advertiser,  which  paper  for  many 
months  he  edited  with  distinguished  ability,  and  carried  with 
him  into  the  fiats  which  he  issued  from  the  then  leading  town 
of  Maine  the  same  fire  and  force,  the  same  tremendous  direct 
ness  that  had  characterized  his  days  upon  the  Kcnnebcc  Jour 
nal.  Yet  his  editorials  here  were  no  more  forceful  or  gracious 
than  those  we  have  already  printed. 

His  career  as  an  editor,  in  coming  to  a  close  in  1858  in  the 
office  of  the  Portland  Advertiser,  lasted  but  six  years.  There 
are  many  living  who  thoroughly  appreciate  Mr.  Elaine's  pe 
culiar  fitness  for  his  present  position,  yet  who  regret  that  as 
the  door  of  politics  opened  to  him  the  door  of  journalism 
closed,  and  a  great  editor  was  lost  to  the  country.  He  pos 
sessed  all  the  qualities  of  a  good  journalist,  and  he  has  said 
a  dozen  times  that  he  never  would  be  entirely  happy  until 
he  was  at  the  head  of  a  great  newspaper.  His  phenomenal 
memory  of  circumstances,  dates,  names,  and  places,  or,  in  other 
words,  the  availability  of  his  memory,  combined  with  the  quick 
ness  and  accuracy  of  judgment,  is  what  so  pre-eminently  fitted 
him  for  the  duties  and  directions  of  the  sanctum.  He  wrote 
as  readily  and  as  strongly  as  he  speaks,  and  very  rapidly,  and 
he  presents  to  us  the  singular  combination  of  the  qualities  of 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  69 

a  good  speaker  and  a  good  writer  in  one.  In  many  respects 
he  resembles  Horace  Greeley,  in  that  he  goes  straight  to  the 
point,  and  wastes  no  time  in  painting  with  pretty  words  a 
background  for  his  thoughts.  His  other  qualities  for  journal 
ism  are :  he  is  courageous,  he  is  fair-minded,  he  does  not  har 
bor  revenge  nor  malice,  he  grasps  and  weighs  quickly  the 
events  of  the  day,  and  finally,  like  all  other  good  journalists, 
he  is  a  thoroughly  good  fellow. 

Ere  we  lose  sight  of  him  in  this  capacity  we  should  recall 
the  single  other  fact  that,  prior  to  his  connection  with  the  Ken- 
nebec  Journal,  he  had  caught  the  editorial  fever,  and  more  than 
one  contribution  from  his  pen  had  graced  the  columns  of 
several  of  the  greater  and  inferior  daily  newspapers  of  the 
country. 

While  politics  and  economic  interests  were  of  the  first  im 
portance  and  demanded  his  best  thought,  his  emotional 
nature  did  not  hesitate  to  turn  into  other  paths,  and  he  wan 
dered  to  subjects  of  less  importance  at  the  moment ;  thus 
elucidating  the  problems  that  were  brought  upon  the  stage  of 
life  at  that  time.  In  this  spirit  we  find  an  editorial  upon  the 
Arctic  expedition  and  Dr.  Kane  that  reads  as  follows : 

The  expedition  which  sailed  from  New  York  in  May,  1853,  as  the  "forlorn 
hope"  in  search  of  Sir  John  Franklin,  was  to  have  returned  by  September  I, 
1854.  They  have  not  been  heard  from  since  the  July  following  their  departure, 
and  their  failure  to  return  at  the  appointed  time  has 'created  a  deep  solicitude  for 
their  safety.  It  may  be  remembered  that  the  expedition  was  fitted  ,out  in  great 
part,  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  various  benevolent  and  philanthropic  in, 
dividuals,  among  whom  Mr.  George  Peabody,  the  well-known  American  banker 
of  London,  was  the  largest  donor — he  advancing  the  munificent  sum  of  ten  thou 
sand  dollars  towards  the  worthy  object.  The  expedition  is  commanded  by  Dr. 
Kane  of  the  United  States  Navy,  who  was  attached  as  surgeon  to  the  former 
"  search  "  which  sailed  from  the  United  States  in  1850,  and  returned  in  the  autumn 
of  1851.  His  written  account  of  the  perils  and  hardships  of  that  expedition,  his 
full  and  lucid  description  of  polar  scenery  and  vegetation,  forms  one  of  the  rich 
est  additions  to  the  literature  and  scientific  knowledge  of  the  country. 

That  search,  though  unhappily  not  successful  in  its  great  object  of  finding  the 
lost  navigators,  nevertheless  convinced  Dr.  Kane  that  there  was  yet  great  hope, 


7°  HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

and  that  Sir  John  Franklin  and  his  company  should  not  be  given  up,  until  the 
icy  barriers  of  the  North  were  penetrated  to  their  utmost  verge.  His  theory  is 
that  beyond  Smith's  or  Lancaster's  Sounds,  and  to  the  north  of  Greenland,  that 
terra  incognita^  there  lies  a  vast  open  ocean  into  which  no  man  has  yet  pene 
trated  and  returned.  This  ocean  has  a  surface,  according  to  his  calculations,  of 
four  million  square  miles,  and  he  believes  that  at  some  season  of  extraordinary 
mildness,  Sir  John  Franklin's  company  forced  their  way  into  it,  and  could  not 
return,  and  that  there  they  are,  fast  lucked  in  their  icy  prison.  Dr.  Kane's  pro 
ject  was  to  reach  the  ocean  by  an  overland  route,  that  is,  to  sail  as  far  to  the 
North  as  he  could  get,  say  to  the  latitude  of  76°,  then  leave  his  ships  in  charge 
of  a  portion  of  his  men,  and  with  the  remainder  start  overland  in  sledges,  draun 
by  Esquimaux  dogs,  and  carrying  gulta  percha  boats  to  be  launched  on  this  great 
Northern  Ocean,  when  they  would  reach  its  shores.  Whether  Dr.  Kane  was 
correct  in  his  theory  of  this  vast  Polar  sea  remains  yet  to  be  seen,  and  can  neither 
be  satisfactorily  denied  or  affirmed  until  the  expedition  is  heard  from.  The  dis 
covery  of  the  remains  of  Sir  John  Franklin's  party  by  Dr.  Rae,  which  seems  to 
be  well  confirmed  and  generally  accredited,  removes  the  prime  object  of  Kane's 
expedition,  and  deepens  the  anxiety  which  his  friends  feel  for  his  return.  He  is 
one  of  those  men  whom  the  country  can  ill  afford  to  spare.  A  brief  outline  of 
his  life,  as  we  have  never  seen  it  given,  may  be  interesting  to  our  readers. 

Elisha  Kent  Kane  is  the  son  of  John  K.  Kane,  United  States  District  Judge  of 
Pennsylvania — much  talked  of  throughout  the  country  years  ago,  as  the  gentleman 
to  whom  Mr.  Polk  addressed  the  celebrated  document  known  as  the  "  Kane  let 
ter."  The  letter  undoubtedly  was  the  weight  which  turned  the  scale  against  Mr. 
Clay  in  the  Keystone  State,  and  therefore  Judge  Kane  was  unmercifully  abused 
for  his  connection  with  it.  He  has,  however,  thoroughly  outlived  the  obloquy 
then  heaped  upon  him,  and  is  now  known  in  Philadelphia  as  one  of  the  most 
influential  and  talented  gentlemen  of  that  city.  But  it  is  the  life  of  the  son  that 
we  are  to  sketch.  He,  the  doctor,  is  now  about  thirty-five  years  of  age;  when 
he  was  some  fourteen  or  fifteen,  he  was  pronounced  by  physicians  so  radically 
diseased  in  the  heart,  that  he  might  at  any  time  fall  dead,  and  they  advised  that 
he  be  taken  from  school  and  sent  travelling.  Accordingly  at  this  early  age  he 
was  sent  to  Europe,  where  he  rambled  at  leisure  and  pleasure,  traversing  a  great 
part  of  the  continent  on  foot.  Having  spent  some  three  years  in  this  way,  and 
not  dying  as  was  predicted,  he  returned  to  Philadelphia  and  engnged  in  the  study 
of  medicine.  Having  finished  his  course,  he  desired  to  set  out  on  his  travels 
again,  and  was  shortly  after  attached  to  the  suite  of  Caleb  Cushing,  then  going 
out  to  China  as  United  States  Commissioner. 

During  the  next  three  years  he  travelled  most  extensively  through  China,  India, 
Persia  and  other  parts  of  Asia.  Thence  crossed  into  Africa  and  explored  many 
of  the  countries  of  that  unknown  continent.  He  returned  from  his  Eastern 
travels  by  way  of  the  Pacific,  and  crossed  over  South  America,  coming  down  the 
valley  of  the  Amazon  and  possessing  himself  of  a  full  knowledge  of  its  varied 
resources.  He  reached  the  United  States  in  1846,  and  his  old  friend,  Cushing, 
having  previously  returned  from  China,  was  about  setting  out  for  the  seat  of  war 
in  Mexico.  Kane  was  immediately  attached  to  his  staff,  and  did  pood  service 
during  the  whole  campaign  ;  at  one  time  distinguishing  himself  highly  for  the 
success  and  daring  bravery  with  which  he  conducted  a  train  of  supplies  almost 
through  the  camp  of  the  enemy.  In  this  perilous  feat  he  was  wounded,  though 
not  in  a  manner  to  disable  him  seriously. 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  /I 

After  the  close  of  the  war  he  received  from  President  Polk  the  commission  of 
surgeon  in  the  United  States  Navy.  During  the  years  1848-9,  and  part  of  '50, 
he  was  attached  to  the  coast  survey  under  Prof.  Bache,  where  his  large  scientific 
acquirements  rendered  him  of  great  service.  He  was  engaged  in  the  survey 
when,  in  1850,  he  was  detached  as  surgeon  to  the  Arctic  expedition  under  com 
mand  of  Lieut.  De  Haven.  He  has  perhaps  travelled  more  than  any  living  man, 
and  he  furnishes  a  practical  contradiction  to  the  adage  that  great  travellers  are 
great  story-tellers.  A  more  modest,  unassuming  man  than  he  can  nowhere  be 
found. 

He  is  plain  and  retiring,  not  ready  to  talk  of  his  travels,  nor  to  appear  distin 
guished  from  the  mass ;  but  when  he  chooses  to  be  communicative,  can  be  as 
absorbingly  interesting  as  any  man  we  have  ever  heard  speak.  To  see  him  on 
the  street  in  Philadelphia,  a  small  statured,  modestly  dressed  young  man,  no  one 
would  ever  imagine  that  he  is  the  traveller  of  the  day — not  even  excepting  Bayard 
Taylor — and  that  in  scientific  acquirements  he  is  the  associate  and  the  equal  of 
Agassiz,  and  Bailey,  of  Forbes,  and  Le  Verrier.  But  such  ia  fact  he  is,  and  if 
he  ever  lives  to  return  to  his  home,  will  yet  do  honor  to  his  whole  country  in  the 
contributions  he  will  make  to  her  philosophy  and  literature. 


CHAPTER  V. 

INTO  POLITICS — DELEGATE  TO  THE  CONVENTION  OF  1856 — His  FIRST 
SPEECH — MEMBER  OF  THE  MAINE  LEGISLATURE — SPEAKER  OF  THE  MAINE 
HOUSE — A  RATIFICATION  MEETING. 

T  T  is  almost  needless  to  say,  for  the  reader's  acumen  has  al- 
JL  ready  prompted  him  to  the  conclusion,  that  it  was  jour- 

ilism  that  led  James  G.  Blaine  into  the  whirlpool  of  politics, 
and  it  was  inevitable  that  in  that  whirlpool  he  should  lose  his 
hold  upon  his  stepping-stone.'.  In  September,  1858,  he  was 
elected  to  represent  the  city  oT  Augusta  in  the  Legislature  of 
Maine  for  1859.  He  was  re-elected  to  the  Legislature  of 
1860  and  1 86 1.  The  last  two  years  of  his  term  he  served  as 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

The  same  strong  incisive  and  magnetic  qualities  of  which 
he  had  given  proof  as  an  editor  he  exhibited  as  a  member  of 
the  Legislature.  A  master  of  parliamentary  law,  he  evinced 
a  practical  experience  in  legislative  proceedings  and  a  quick 
appreciation  of  men,  what  they  were  and  what  they  were  capa 
ble  of  doing.  His  influential  position  in  the  body  was  at  the 
outset  recognized  by  his  associates  and  by  the  public.  His 
debate  with  the  Hon.  A.  P.  Gould,  of  Thomaston,  the  Demo 
cratic  leader  of  the  House  and  a  distinguished  lawyer  and 
politician,  show  greatfc forensic  power  and  insight.  And  it  ex 
cited  the  living  people  not  only  in  the  Legislature,  but  among 
the  homes  of  the  State.  The  subject  was  upon  a  resolution 
(72) 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  73 

dealing  with  the  confiscation  of  Rebel  property.  Mr.  Elaine 
resigned  his  chair  for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  floor,  and  for 
more  than  an  hour  he  held  the  House  within  the  circle  of  his 
eye.  An  impetuous  torrent  of  well-couched  argument  was 
poured  forth.  And  the  coup  de  grace was  given  in  a  glittering 
structure  of  facts  and  logic.  Mr.  Gould  was  demolished.  Mr. 
Elaine  resumed  the  Speaker's  chair  and  carried  with  him  to  it 
the  hot  flushed  palm  of  success.  The  debate  was  incisive  and 
demoralizing  to  the  opponents  of  the  Union. 

Mr.  Elaine  also  led  the  forces  that  opposed  the  change  of 
the  seat  of  government  of  the  State  from  Augusta  to  Port 
land,  and  after  a  severe  and  brilliant  contest  was  victorious. 

As  presiding  officer  he  was  prompt  in  his  decisions,  always 
ready  and  correct,  and  they  were  decisions  that  decided.  He 
never  stumbled  and  appeal  was  rarely  taken,  and  his  thorough 
comprehension  of  his  duties,  the  precision  and  rapidity  of  his 
action  were  of  great  practical  advantage  in  freeing  legislation 
V  from  unnecessary  delays  and  obstructions. 

The  Hon.  J.  L.  Stevens,  who  for  quite  a  while  ornamented 
our  diplomatic  service  and  who  made  Mr.  Elaine's  acquaint 
ance  in  January,  1855,  when  he  became  associated  with  him 
in  the  conduct  and  ownership  of  the  Kenncbec  Journal,  thus 
writes  concerning  Mr.  Elaine  at  this  time :  "  His  gifts  as  an 
orator  and  his  generous  and  magnetic  qualities  rapidly  made 
him  known  to  the  entire  people  of  the  State.  He  had  a  re 
markable  faculty  of  attaching  men  to  him.  He  always  remem 
bered  the  face  of  a  man  whom  he  had  once  met,  and  in  a 
brief  period  he  knew  the  active  men  from  all  sections  of  the 
commonwealth.  The  men  whose  names  he  had  once  heard 
and  whose  faces  he  had  once  seen  were  always  quickly  recog 
nized  in  subsequent  years  wherever  he  chanced  to  meet  them. 
In  this  regard  as  well  as  his  remembrance  of  all  the  salient 


74  HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

political  and  historical  facts,  he  exhibited  remarkable  qualities, 
strikingly  illustrated  throughout  his  public  life.  When  the 
Free-State  men  of  Kansas  were  struggling  against  the  border 
ruffians  of  Missouri,  agents  of  the  former  State  came  to  New 
England,  in  1855,  for  pecuniary  aid  and  sympathy.  Mr.  Elaine 
was  one  of  those  who  contributed,  giving  to  the  extent  of  his 
means  and  co-operating  in  obtaining  other  aid  in  Augusta. 
He  was  always  kind-hearted  and  generous  to  the  men  in  our 
employ.  He  was  always  liberal  to  the  extent  of  his  means 
and  sympathetic  toward  all  just  objects  of  charity.  When 
young,  while  a  man  somewhat  impulsive  and  ardent,  he  was 
always  very  careful  and  prudent  in  decision,  and  his  impulses 
were  under  complete  control.  Like  all  public  men  who  have 
been  conspicuous  in  politics  for  many  years,  he  has  necessarily 
some  enemies,  but  fewer  than  most  men  have.  Ever  a  firm 
adherent  to  the  Republican  party  and  its  principles,  he  is 
catholic  toward  all,  generous  to  his  opponents,  has  few  ani 
mosities,  and  forgets  them  sooner  than  most  public  men. 
From  my  earliest  acquaintance  with  him  he  seemed  to  me  to 
have  precisely  those  qualities  which  make  a  popular  and 
successful  leader. 

"As  a  candidate  he  has  always  been  stronger  than  his  party. 
I  consider  him  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  in  the  coun 
try,  and  that  he  has  few  peers  as  a  political  leader  and  states 
man  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic.  The  bitterness  with  which 
he  has  often  been  attacked  by  partisan  editors  and  political 
rivals  has  less  foundation  than  any  like  case  with  which  I  am 
^acquainted.  The  Mr.  Blainc  which  they  represent  with  so 
many  expletives  and  such  violent  rhetoric  is  a  person  entirely 
unlike  the  Mr.  Blaine  known  to  his  townsmen,  his  acquaint 
ances  and  his  friends.  It  is  a  Mr.  Blaine  that  has  no  real 
existence." 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  75 

Mr.  Blaine  retired  from  the  Speaker's  chair  at  Augusta  with 
more  than  ordinary  fame  and  the  good  wishes  of  both  parties. 
In  the  House  of  the  State  Capitol  building,  however,  Mr. 
Blaine  did  not  make  his  first  appearance  on  the  field  of  poli 
tics.  His  debut  ante-dated  his  legislative  appearance  nearly 
two  years.  In  the  spring  of  1856  he  was  chosen  a  delegate 
to  the  first  Convention  of  the  Republican  party,  which  was 
called  to  meet  in  Philadelphia  in  June  of  that  year.  Mr.  Blaine 
by  right  was  selected  a  delegate  to  that  Convention,  for  he  and 
Governor  Morrill  were  the  godfathers  of  the  Republican  party 
in  the  Pine  Tree  State,  for  it  was  largely  to  their  efforts  that 
any  Convention  was  possible.  That  Convention  which  was  to 
lay  the  foundation  stone  of  the  greatest  political  party  of 
modern  times  is  thus  described  by  Mr.  Blaine  in  his  "  Twenty 
Years  of  Congress  :" 

The  Republican  party  had  meanwhile  been  organizing  and  consolidating. 
During  the  years  1854  and  1855  it  had  acquired  control  of  the  governments  in  a 
majority  of  the  free  States,  and  it  promptly  called  a  national  Convention  to  meet 
in  Philadelphia,  in  June,  1856.  The  Democracy  saw  at  once  that  a  new  and 
dangerous  opponent  was  in  the  field — an  opponent  that  stood  upon  principle  and 
shunned  expediency;  that  brought  to  its  standard  a  great  host  of  young  men,  and 
that  won  to  its  service  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  talent,  the  courage,  and  the 
eloquence  of  the  North.  The  Convention  met  for  a  purpose,  and  it  spoke 
boldly.  It  accepted  the  issue  as  presented  by  the  men  of  the  South,  and  it 
offered  no  compromise.  In  its  ranks  were  all  shades  of  anti-slavery  opinion — 
the  patient  Abolitionist,  the  Free-Soiler  of  the  Buffalo  platform,  the  Democrats 
who  had  supported  the  Wilmot  proviso,  the  Whigs  who  had  followed  Seward. 

There  was  no  strife  about  candidates.  Mr.  Seward  was  the  recognized 
head  of  the  party,  but  he  did  not  desire  the  nomination.  He  agreed  with  his 
faithful  mentor,  Thurlow  Weed,  that  his  time-  had  not  come,  and  that  his  sphere 
of  duty  was  still  in  the  Senate.  Salmon  P.  Chase  was  Governor  of  Ohio,  waiting 
re-election  to  the  Senate,  and,  like  Seward,  not  anxious  for  a  nomination  where 
election  was  regarded  as  improbable  if  not  impossible.  The  more  conservative 
and  timid  section  of  the  party  advocated  the  nomination  of  Judge  McLean, 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  who  for  many  years  had  enjoyed  a  shadowy 
mention  for  the  presidency  in  Whig  journals  of  a  certain  type.  But 
Judge  McLean  was  old  and  the  Republican  party  was  young.  He  belonged  to 
the  past ;  the  party  was  looking  to  the  future.  It  demanded  a  more  energetic  and 
attractive  candidate,  and  John  C.  Fremont  was  chosen  on  the  first  ballot.  He 
was  forty-three  years  of  age,  with  a  creditable  record  in  the  regular  army,  and 
wide  fame  as  a  scientific  explorer  in  the  Western  mountain  ranges,  then  the  terra 

5 


7  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

incognita  of  the  continent.  He  was  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  and  had  married 
the  brilliant  and  accomplished  daughter  of  Col.  Benton.  Always  a  member  of 
the  Democratic  party,  he  was  so  closely  identified  with  the  early  settlement  of 
California  that  he  was  elected  one  of  her  first  senators.  To  the  tinge  of  romance 
in  his  history  were  added  the  attractions  of  a  winning  address  and  an  auspicious 
name. 

The  movement  in  his  behalf  had  been  quietly  and  effectively  organized ,  for 
several  months  preceding  the  Convention.  It  had  been  essentially  aided,  if  not 
indeed  originated,  by  the  elder  Francis  P.  Blair,  who  had  the  skill  derived  from 
long  experience  in  political  management.  Mr.  Blair  was  a  devoted  friend  of 
Benton,  had  been  intimate  with  Jackson  and  intensely  hostile  to  Calhoun.  As 
editor  of  the  Globe,  he  had  exercised  wide  influence  during  the  Presidential 
terms  of  Jackson  and  Van  Buren,  but  when  Polk  was  inaugurated  he  was  sup 
planted  in  administration  confidence  by  Thomas  Ritchie,  of  the  State-Rights' 
school,  who  was  brought  from  Virginia  to  found  another  paper.  Mr.  Blair  was 
a  firm  Union  man,  ami  though  he  had  never  formally  withdrawn  from  the  Dem 
ocratic  party,  he  was  now  ready  to  leave  it  because  of  the  disunion  tendencies  of 
its  Southern  leaders.  He  was  a  valuable  friend  to  Fremont,  and  gave  to  him 
the  full  advantage  of  his  experience  and  his  sagacity. 

Wm.  L.  Dayton,  of  New  Jersey,  who  had  served  with  distinction  in  the  Sen 
ate,  was  selected  for  the  Vice- Presidency.  His  principal  competitor  in  the  only 
ballot  which  was  taken  was  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois.  This  was  the  first 
time  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  conspicuously  named  outside  of  his  own  State.  He 
had  been  a  member  of  the  Thirtieth  Congress,  1847-9,  ')Ut  being  a  modest  man 
he  had  so  little  forced  himself  into  notice  that  when  his  name  was  proposed  for 
Vice-President,  inquiries  as  to  who  he  was  were  heard  from  all  parts  ol  the  Con 
vention. 

When  the  young  delegate  returned  to  Augusta  it  was  de 
cided  to  hold  a  ratification  meeting,  and  Meinonaon  Hall  was* 
engaged  for  the  occasion,  and  Saturday,  June  21,  1856,  was 
the  time.  Citizens  came  from  Gardener  and  Hallowell,  and  a 
band  of  music  was  present.  The  hall  held  about  400  enthu 
siastic  ratifiers,  and  as  can  be  readily  understood,  the  meeting 
had  a  primitive  air  about  it,  and  there  was  a  feeling  of  inexpe 
rience  which  always  attends  the  first  steps  of  a  new  movement, 
but  there  was  no  doubt  about  the  utterances  of  the  speakers 
or  the  intent  of  their  words. 

James  H.  Williams  presided,  and  introduced  Mr.  Morrill, 
who  delivered  an  elaborate  address,  presented  the  attitude  of 
the  Republican  party,  and  outlined  what  it  had  done  and  the 
great  work  it  had  mapped  out  for  the  future. 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  77 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Merrill's  speech,  a  tall,  thin,  orown- 
haired  man,  with  pale  face  and  flashing  eye,  advanced  to  the 
edge  of  the  platform.  It  was  very  evident  to  his  audience 
that  he  approached  them  tremblingly  and  under  every  disad 
vantage  of  his  first  effort.  But  at  the  first  sound  of  his  own 
voice  every  doubt  vanished.  He  seemed  at  once  to  grasp  his 
theme  and  to  recover  his  control.  He  began  quietly,  but  soon 
warmed  to  the  most  earnest  exertion  and  the  most  enthu 
siastic  utterances.  For  thirty  minutes  he  delivered  a  harangue 
at  once  brilliant  and  powerful.  He  arraigned  the  Whigs  and 
Democrats  with  merciless  severity,  and  he  held  up  the  Repub 
lican  party,  just  born,  as  the  great  beacon-light  of  the  times ; 
"  a  pillar  of  cloud  by  day,  and  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night/'  that 
was  to  lead  them  out  of  the  bondage  of  slavery  and  disinte 
gration  into  the  promised  land  of  union  and  freedom. 

The  speech  aroused  the  greatest  enthusiasm  and  made  a 
strong  impression.  It  stamped  the  orator  from  that  moment 
as  a  man  of  mark ;  a  man  who  would  yet  become  a  great 
leader  of  his  people.  His  oration  was  so  pregnant  with  power 
that  it  at  once  guaranteed  his  future.  Speaking  of  this  occa 
sion,  Mr.  Elaine  once  said  to  rne,  "  I  never  suffered  so  much  in 
all  my  life,  and  to  this  day,  upon  rising  to  speak,  I  feel  coming 
back  upon  me  something  of  the  terror  of  that  night." 

This  was  the  first  appearance  of  the  man  who  to-day  heads 
the  march  of  the  Republican  party,  then  as  now  an  ever  vic 
torious  army.  And  is  it  not  a  little  singular  that  it  was  almost 
twenty-eight  years  to  a  day  after  this  speech  which  marks  the 
initiation  of  Mr.  Elaine's  career  in  politics  that,  resting  within 
the  shadow  of  his  own  house,  within  the  same  town,  he  should 
enjoy  the  singularly  agreeable  pleasure  of  a  ratification  meet 
ing  of  his  own  neighbors  upon  his  nomination  to  the  seat  he 
so  earnestly  intended  Mr.  Fremont  to  occupy  ?  Verily,  Time 
is  a  strange  pilot ! 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ELAINE  IN  CONGRESS — A  NEW  FORCE  ON  THE  FLOOR  OF  THE  HOUSE — THE 
MAN  FROM  MAINE  BEGINS  His  RECORD — ELECTED  TO  THE  SPEAKER'S 
CHAIR — ANOTHER  GRADUATION,  THIS  TIME  TO  THE  SENATE — A  MARVEL 
OUS  HISTORY  OF  ACTIVITY. 

IN  1862  the  face  of  James  G.  Elaine  first  appeared  upon  the 
floor  of  the  House  of  Representatives  at  Washington 
with  the  right  to  stay  there,  and  from  that  time  to  this  the 
will  of  the  American  people  has  perpetuated  in  Mr.  Elaine 
that  right.  From  that  year  dates  the  beginning  of  his  national 
career.  Indeed,  few  men  have  lived  more  constantly  in  what 
Mr.  Manton  Marble  would  call  "  the  sunlight  of  publicity." 
For  an  instant  let  us  run  over  his  record.  He  was  elected  a 
Member  of  Congress  for  seven  successive  terms,  by  the  fol 
lowing  majorities : 


1862 3,422 

1864 4,328 

1866 6,591 


1868 3,346 

1870 2,320 

1872 3,568 


1874 .2,830 

He  was  three  times  chosen  Speaker  of  the  National  House, 
serving  in  that  capacity  from  March  4,  1869,  to  March  4, 
1875.  He  received  the  nomination  for  the  Speakership  in 
the  Republican  caucus  each  time  by  acclamation,  an  honor 
not  enjoyed  by  any  candidate  for  the  Speakership  before  or 
since,  and  he  never  had  a  ruling  reversed  or  overruled  by  the 
House  during  the  six  years  he  held  that  onerous  and  trying 
office. 

(73) 


AT  THE  AGE  OF   THIRTY-FIVE. 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  8 1 


He  was  appointed  Senator  July  8,  1876,  to  fill  the  vacancy 
caused- by  the  resignation  of  Lot  M.  Morrill,  who  became 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury ;  and  Mr.  Elaine  was  elected  Sena 
tor  January  1 6,  1877,  both  for  the  long  and  short  terms,  by 
the  unanimous  vote  of  the  Republicans  in  the  Maine  Legisla 
ture  in  caucus  and  in  their  respective  houses.  He  resigned 
from  the  Senate  March  4,  1 88 1,  to  accept  the  post  of  Secre 
tary  of  State.  As  such  we  will  refer  to  him  later.  Dur 
ing  all  this  career  his  public  life  was  continuous.  He  was 
promoted  by  the  people  from  one  place  to  another,  and  he 
never  got  before  the  people  that  he  was  not  elected.  His  de 
feats  have  been  confined  to  the  National  Conventions  of  his 
own  party  and  to  politicians ;  the  people  have  never  beaten 
him. 

When  Mr.  Blaine  entered  Congress  and  looked  around  him 
he  must  have  wondered  with  the  historical  Western  man,  as 
he  saw  all  the  men  with  distinguished  names  sitting  about  him 
and  in  close  proximity,  "  How  the  dickens  did  I  get  here?" 
Doubtless  also  as  the  later  combats  in  which  he  entered  de 
veloped  to  him,  as  would  a  photograph,  the  defects  and  weak 
nesses  of  these  same  great  men,  I  have  no  doubt  he  concluded 
the  story  of  the  historical  Western  man  with  the  Western 
man's  remark,  "  How  the  dickens  did  they  get  here  ?" 

Still,  around  him  there  were  men  who  at  that  hour  were 
ruling  the  destiny  of  the  country.  The  natural  leader  who 
assumed  his  place  by  common  consent  was  Thaddeus  Stevens, 
a  man  with  strong  peculiarity  of  character,  and  as  Mr.  Blaine 
has  characterized  him,  "  able,  trained,  and  fearless."  Elihu  B. 
Washburne,  Geo.  W.  Julian,  Daniel  W.  Voorhees,  Schuyler 
Colfax,  Anson  P.  Morrill,  Henry  L.  Dawes,  Wm.  A.  Wheeler, 
Reuben  E.  Fenton,  Geo.  H.  Pendleton,  Clement  L.  Vallandig- 
ham,  Samuel  S.  Cox,  Wm.  D.  Kelley,  Roscoe  Conkling, 


82  HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

Wm.  S.  Holman,  Francis  P.  Blair,  Oilman  Marsden,  were 
among  the  illustrious  of  the  day,  and  James  G.  Blaine,  al 
though  they  did  not  know  it,  was  their  peer. 

During  his  first  term  he  gave  himself  up  to  study  and  ob 
servations,  but  in  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress  he  began  to  be 
felt,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  he  has  been  foremost  in 
all  legislation.  His  first  solid  reputation  made  in  Washington 
was  that  of  an  exceedingly  industrious  committee-man.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Post-Office  and  Military  Committee,  and 
on  the  Appropriations  and  the  Rules.  He  paid  close  atten 
tion  to  the  business  of  the  Committees  and  took  an  active 
part  in  the  debates  of  the  House,  manifesting  practical  abili 
ties  and  genius  for  details.  (JJre^i^t-Ceniarkable  speech  he 
made  in  Congress  was  on  the  Assumption  of  the  General  Gov 
ernment  of  the  War  Debts  of  the  States,  in  the  course  of 
which  he  urged  that  the  North  was  abundantly  able  to  carry 
on  the  war  to  a  successful  issue.  This  speech  was  so  warmly 
received  that  two  hundred  thousand  copies  were  circulated  as 
a  campaign  document  in  the  campaign  of  I  S$4~^And^  jt_was 
the  delivery  of  this  speech,  and  some  discussions  whichjook 
shortlyafler  it,  lhat"ra11sed_jniajd^  say 


_ 

"Rlain«v.of  Maine  had  shown  as  great  abiljtY_for-the 
higher  walks  of  public  life  as  anv  mnn  who  had  come^  to  Con- 
\  gi^ss_ckinng_his  period  of  seryjc^s^L-Jjjs  views  on  all  public 
\questions  were  pronounced,  sometimes  to  aggressiveness,  and 
yet  his  bitterest  foe  ,fias  neve#  charged  him  with  avoiding  or 
evading  any  responsibility  or  the  expression  of  his  convic 
tions  on  issues  of  the  moment. 

During  his  first  session  as  a  member  of  the  Post-Office  Com 
mittee  he  took  an  active  part  in  co-operation  with  the  Chair 
man,  the  Hon.  John  B.  Alley,  and  the  late  James  Brooks,  of 
New  York,  in  encouraging  and  securing  the  system  of  Postal 


HON.   JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  83 

Cars  now  in  universal  operation.  Distribution  on  the  cars 
had  not  been  attempted  on  any  great  scale,  and  the  first  ap 
propriations  for  the  enlarged  service  were  not  granted  without 
opposition — an  opposition  he  overcame. 

In  the  seven  years  intervening  between  the  time  that  Mr. 
Elaine  was  first  elected  to  Congress  and  the  time  that  he  was 
elevated  to  the  Speaker's  Chair,  his  speeches  were  not  many 
in  number  nor  perhaps  great  in  quality  when  compared  with 
the  speeches  of  his  later  career;  though  they  were  not  lack 
ing  in  force  or  purpose.  Naturally  he  offered  a  strong  sup 
port  to  the  administration.  In  the  period  of  reconstruction 
he  was  active,  energetic  and  intelligent.  He  was  especially 
prominent  in  shaping  some  of  the  most  important  features  of 
the  I4th  Amendment,  particularly  that  relating  to  the  business 
of  representation.  The  discussions  on  these  great  series  of 
questions,  in  which  Mr.  Elaine  figured  largely,  are  among  the 
most  valuable  and  interesting  in  the  history  of  the  American 
Congress.  On  one  occasion  he  said : 

Among  the  most  solemn  duties  of  a  sovereign  government  is  the  protection 
of  those  citizens  who,  under  great  temptations  and  amid  great  perils,  main 
tain  their  faith  and  their  loyalty.  The  obligation  on  the  Federal  Govern 
ment  to  protect  the  loyalists  of  the  South  is  supreme,  and  they  must  take  all  need 
ful  means  to  assure  that  protection.  Among  the  most  needful  is  the  gift  of  free 
suffrage,  and  that  must  be  guaranteed.  There  is  no  protection  you  can  extend 
to  a  man  so  effective  and  conclusive  as  the  power  to  protect  himself.  And  iu 
assuring  protection  to  the  loyal  citizen  you  assure  permanency  to  the  government ; 
so  that  the  bestowal  of  suffrage  is  not  merely  the  discharge  of  a  personal  obliga 
tion  toward  those  who  are  enfranchised,  but  it  is  the  most  far  sighted  provision 
against  social  disorder,  the  surest  guarantee  for  peace,  prosperity,  and  public 
justice. 

In  1867,  while  he  was  absent  in  Europe,  the  theory  of  pay 
ing  the  public  debt  in  greenbacks  was  started  in  Ohio  by  Mr. 
Pendleton  and  in  Massachusetts  by  General  Butler.  As  soon 
as  it  was  possible  for  Mr.  Elaine  when  opportunity  was  afforded 
to  him  in  the  autumn  on  his  return,  at  a  special  or  adjourned 
session  of  Congress,  he  assaulted  the  proposition  in  a  speech 


$4  HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

of  great  research,  logic,  and  force.  It  thus  happened  that  he 
was  the  first  man  in  either  branch  of  Congress  to  speak  against 
the  financial  heresy  that  has  so  long  engrossed  the  attention 
of  the  people.  From  that  time  Mr.  Elaine  has  been  indefati 
gable,  both  in  Congress  and  before  the  people,  in  bringing  the 
public  opinion  of  the  country  to  a  right  standard  of  financial 
and  national  honor. 

He  was  ever  a  ready  champion  of  his  own  State,  and  \\hrn 
any  one  chose  or  dared  to  attack  it,  Mr.  Elaine  was  the  first 
to  spring  to  its  defence.  Mr.  S.  S.  Cox,  who  owes  to  Con 
gressman  Blaine  his  sobriquet  of  "  Sunset,"  cast  some  reflec 
tions  on  the  Pine  Tree  State  on  the  2d  of  July,  1864.  Mr. 
Elaine,  on  his  feet  in  an  instant,  replied : 

If  there  be  a  State  in  this  Union  that  can  say  with  truth  that  her  federal  con 
nection  confers  no  special  benefit  of  a  material  character,  that  State  is  Maine, 
and  yet,  sir,  no  State  is  more  attached  to  the  Federal  Union  than  Maine.  Her 
affection  and  her  pride  are  centred  in  the  Union,  and  God  knows  she  has  con 
tributed  of  her  best  blood  and  treasure  without  stint  in  supporting  the  war  for  the 
Union,  and  she  will  do  so  to  the  end.  But  she  resents,  and  I,  speaking  for  her, 
resent  the  insinuation  that  she  derives  any  undue  advantage  from  federal  legisla 
tion,  or  that  she  gets  a  single  dollar  that  she  does  not  pay  back.  ...  I  have 
spoken  in  vindication  of  a  State  that  is  as  independent  and  as  proud  as  any  within 
the  limits  of  the  Union.  I  have  spoken  for  a  people  as  high-toned  and  as  hon 
orable  as  can  be  found  in  the  wide  world — many  of  them  my  constituents,  who 
are  as  manly  and  as  brave  as  ever  faced  the  ocean's  storms.  So  long,  sir,  ;i<  I 
have  a  seat  on  this  floor,  the  State  of  Maine  shall  not  be  slandered  by  the  gentle 
man  from  Ohio  or  by  gentlemen  from  any  other  State. 

In  similar  defence  he  said  on  another  occasion,  "  The  senti 
ment  of  Maine  is  loyal  to  the  core,  and  she  has  showed  her 
loyalty  by  complying,  with  patriotic  readiness,  to  all  demands 
thus  far  made  upon  her  for  soldiers  to  recruit  the  army  or  for 
sailors  to  man  the  navy."  Again  he  came  to  the  rescue  when 
Maine  was  covertly  assailed  in  the  debate  on  the  fishing  boun 
ties,  when  he  said  : 

A  great  deal  has  been  said  recently  in  the  other  end  of  the  capitol  in  regard 
fo  the  fishing  bounties,  a  portion  of  which  is  paid  to  M;une.  I  have  a  word  to 
say  on  that  matter,  and  I  may  as  well  say  it  here.  According  to  the  records  of 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  85 

the  Navy  Department,  the  State  of  Maine  has  sent  into  the  naval  service  since 
the  beginning  of  this  war  six  thousand  skilled  seamen,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
trained  and  invaluable  officers  she  has  contributed  to  the  same  sphere  of  patriotic 
duty.  For  these  men  the  State  has  received  no  credit  whatever  on  her  quotas 
for  the  army.  If  you  will  calculate  the  amount  of  bounty  that  would  have  been 
paid  to  that  number  of  men  had  they  enlisted  in  the  army,  instead  of  entering 
the  navy,  as  they  did  without  bounty,  you  will  find  it  will  foot  up  a  larger  sum 
than  Maine  has  received  in  fishing  bounties  for  the  past  twenty  years.  Thus, 
sir,  the  original  proposition  on  which  fishing  bounties  were  granted — that  they 
would  build  up  a  hardy  and  skillful  class  of  mariners  for  the  public  defence  in 
time  of  public  danger — has  been  made  good  a  hundred  and  a  thousand-fold  by 
the  experience  and  the  developments  of  this  war. 

It  was  not  possible,  of  course,  for  such  a  grave  question  as 
that  of  Conscription  to  cross  the  threshold  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  and  the  voice  of  Mr.  Blaine  not  be  raised. 
He  said  as  follows : 

A  conscription  is  a  hard  thing  at  best,  Mr.  Speaker,  but  the  people  of  thir, 
country  are  patriotically  willing  to  submit  to  one  in  this  great  crisis  for  the  great 
cause  at  stake.  There  is  no  necessity,  however,  for  making  it  absolutely  merci 
less  and  sweeping.  I  say,  in  my  judgment,  there  is  no  necessity  for  making  i : 
so,  even  if  there  were  no  antecedent  question  as  to  the  expediency  and  practica 
bility  of  the  measure.  I  believe  the  law  as  it  stands,  allowing  commutation  and 
substitution,  is  sufficiently  effective,  if  judiciously  enforced.  It  will  raise  a  large 
number  of  men  by  its  direct  operation,  and  it  will  secure  a  very  large  amount  of 
money  with  which  to  pay  bounties  to  volunteers. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  asking  gentlemen  around  me  whether  in  their  judgment 
the  pending  measure,  if  submitted  to  the  popular  vote,  would  receive  the  support 
of  even  a  respectable  minority  in  any  district  in  the  loyal  States?  Just  let  it  be 
understood  that  whoever  the  lot  falls  on  must  go,  regardless  of  all  business  con 
siderations,  all  private  interests,  all  personal  engagements,  all  family  obligations; 
that  the  draft  is  to  be  sharp,  decisive,  final,  and  inexorable,  without  commutation 
and  without  substitution,  and  my  word  for  it  you  will  create  consternation  in  all 
the  loyal  States.  Such  a  conscription  was  never  resorted  to  but  once,  even  in 
the  French  Empire  under  the  absolutism  of  the  first  Napoleon,  and  for  the  Con 
gress  of  the  United  States  to  attempt  its  enforcement  upon  their  constituents  is  to 
ignore  the  first  principles  of  republican  and  representative  government. 

His  loyalty  to  the  administration  and  his  appreciation  of 
Mr.  Lincoln's  career,  led  him  at  all  times  to  afford  the  admin 
istration  such  support  as  lay  in  his  power,  and  to  do  every 
thing  he  could  to  get  from  Congress  the  aid  and  comfort  that 
President  Lincoln  so  often  needed  and  too  often  was  refused. 
Mr.  Blaine  recognized  thoroughly  the  necessity  of  encouraging 


86  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

those  men  who  were  at  the  front.     In  a  speech  on  the  Enrol 
ment  Bill,  February  21,  1865,  he  said  in  conclusion: 

Nothing  so  discourages  and  disheartens  the  brave  men  at  the  front  as  the  be 
lief  that  proper  measures  are  not  adopted  at  home  for  re-enforcing  and  sustain 
ing  them.  Even  a  lukewarmness  or  a  backwardness  in  that  respect  is  enough; 
but  when  you  add  to  that  the  suspicion  that  unfair  devices  have  been  resorted  to 
by  those  charged  with  filling  quotas,  you  naturally  influence  the  prejudices  and 
passions  of  our  veterans  in  the  field  in  a  manner  calculated  to  lessen  their  per 
sonal  zeal  and  generally  to  weaken  the  discipline  of  the  army.  After  four  yvar> 
of  such  patriotic  and  heroic  effort  for  national  unity  as  the  world  h:is  never  wit 
nessed  before,  we  cannot  now  afford  to  have  the  great  cause  injured  or  its  lair 
fame  darkened  by  a  single  unworthy  incident  connected  with  it.  The  improper 
practices  of  individuals  canm it  disgrace  or  degrade  the  nation;  but  after  these 
practices  are  brought  to  the  attention  of  Congress,  we  shall  assuredly  be  dis 
graced  and  degraded  if  we  fail  to  apply  the  requisite  remedy  when  that  remedy 
is  in  our  power.  Let  us,  then,  in  this  hour  of  triumph  to  the  national  arms,  do 
our  duty  here,  our  duty  to  the  troops  in  the  field,  our  duty  to  our  constituents  at 
home,  and  our  duty,  alvive  all,  to  our  country,  whose  existence  has  been  in  such 
peril  in  the  past,  but  whose  future  of  greatness  and  glory  seems  now  so  assured 
and  so  radiant. 

It  is  almost  needless  to  tell  our  readers  that  Mr.  Elaine  was 
at  all  times,  and  profoundly  so  from  conviction,  a  protection 
ist.  The  key  to  his  belief  was  obtained  by  the  hard  logic  of 
reasoning  and  facts,  and  he  early  took  an  opportunity  to  state 
the  fact  by  word  of  mouth  and  not  by  vote,  after  his  career 
had  placed  him  in  such  a  position  that  the  statement  was 
needful  for  its  effect.  In  the  House,  February  I,  1866,  he 
said  :  "In  theory  and  in  practice  I  am  for  protecting  Ameri 
can  industry  in  all  its  forms,  and  to  this  end  we  must  encour 
age  American  manufacturers,  and  we  must  equally  encourage 
American  commerce."  From  this  platform  Mr.  Elaine  has 
never  yet  moved. 

Almost  his  last  speech  before  his  ele'vation  to  the  Speaker's 
chair  was  one  of  loyalty  to  the  administration.  In  a  pledge 
of  his  support  and  the  support  of  the  country  to  General 
Grant,  the  incoming  President,  in  the  House,  December  10, 
1868,  he  said: 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  8/ 

General  Grant's  administration  will  have  high  vantage  ground  from  the  day 
of  its  inauguration.  Its  responsibilities  will  indeed  be  great,  its  power  will  be 
large,  its  opportunities  will  be  splendid;  and  to  meet  them  all  we  have  a  tried 
and  true  man,  who  adds  to  his  other  great  elements  of  strength  that  of  perfect 
trust  and  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  people.  And  to  reassure  ourselves  of  his 
executive  character,  if  reassurance  were  necessary,  let  us  remember  that  grent 
military  leaders  have  uniformly  proved  the  wisest,  firmest  and  best  of  civil  rulers. 
Cromwell,  William  III.,  Charles  XII.,  Frederick  of  Prussia,  are  not  more  con 
spicuous  instances  in  monarchical  governments  than  Washington,  Jackson  and 
Taylor  have  proved  in  our  own.  Whatever,  therefore,  may  lie  before  us  in  the 
untrodden  and  often  beclouded  path  of  the  future — whether  it  be  financial  em 
barrassment,  or  domestic  trouble  of  another  and  more  serious  type,  or  misunder 
standings  with  foreign  nations,  or  the  extension  of  our  flag  and  our  sovereignty 
over  insular  or  continental  possessions,  North  or  South,  that  fate  or  fortune  may 
peacefully  offer  to  our  ambition — let  us  believe  with  all  confidence  that  General 
Grant's  administration  will  meet  every  exigency,  with  the  courage,  the  ability  and 
the  conscience  which  American  nationality  and  Christian  civilization  demand. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1869,  when  in  his  thirty-ninth  year, 
Mr.  Elaine  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives.  The  vote  which  promoted  him  stood : 

For  James  G.  Elaine,  of  Maine,  135  votes. 
For  Michael  C.  Kerr,  of  Indiana,  57  votes. 
Upon  taking  the  chair,  Mr.  Elaine  addressed  the  House  as 
follows : 

I  thank  you  profoundly  for  the  great  honor  which  you  have  just  conferred 
upon  me.  The  gratification  which  this  signal  mark  of  your  confidence  brings  to 
me  finds  its  only  drawback  in  the  diffidence  with  which  I  assume  the  weighty 
duties  devolved  upon  me.  Succeeding  to  a  chair  made  illustrious  by  the  services 
of  such  eminent  statesmen  and  skilled  parliamentarians  as  Clay,  and  Stevenson, 
and  Polk,  and  Winthrop,  and  Banks,  and  Grow,  and  Colfax,  I  may  well  dis 
trust  my  ability  to  meet  the  just  expectations  of  those  who  have  shown  me  such 
marked  partiality.  But  relying,  gentlemen,  on  my  honest  purpose  to  perform  all 
my  duties  faithfully  and  fearlessly,  and  trusting  in  a  large  measure  to  the  indul 
gence  which  I  am  sure  you  will  always  extend  to  me,  I  shall  hope  to  retain,  as  I 
have  secured  your  confidence,  your  kindly  regard  nnd  your  generous  support. 

The  Forty-first  Congress  assembles  at  an  auspicious  period  in  the  history  of 
our  government.  The  splendid  and  impressive  ceremonial  which  we  have  just 
witnessed  in  another  part  of  the  Capitol  appropriately  symbolizes  the  triumphs  of 
the  past  and  the  hopes  of  the  future.  A  great  chieftain,  whose  sword,  at  the 
head  of  gallant  and  victorious  armies,  saved  the  Republic  from  dismemberment 
and  ruin,  has  been  fitly  called  to  the  highest  civic  honor  which  a  grateful  people 
can  bestow.  Sustained  by  a  Congress  that  so  ably  represents  the  loyalty,  the 
patriotism,  and  the  personal  worth  of  the  nation,  the  President  this  day  inaugu 
rated  will  assure  to  the  country  an  administration  of  purity,  fidelity  and  pros- 


88  HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

perity;  an  era  of  liberty  regulated  by  law,  and  of  law  thoroughly  inspired  with 
liberty. 

Congratulating  you,  gentlemen,  upon  the  happy  auguries  of  the  day,  and  in 
voking  the  gracious  blessing  of  Almighty  God  on  the  arduous  and  responsible 
labors  before  you,  I  am  now 'ready  to  take  the  oath  of  office  and  enter  upon  the 
discharge  of  the  duties  to  which  you  have  called  me. 

During  the  two  years  that  followed,  Mr.  Elaine  discharged 
his  duties  with  perfect  satisfaction,  and  on  the  3d  of  March, 
1871,  before  the  expiration  of  that  Congress,  Mr.  S.  S.  Cox, 
of  New  York,  offered  the  following  resolutions :  "  In  view  of 
the  difficulties  involved  in  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  the 
presiding  officer  of  this  House,  and  of  the  able,  courteous, 
dignified  and  impartial  discharge  of  those  duties  by  Hon.  J. 
G.  Blaine,  during  the  present  Congress,  it  is  eminently  be 
coming  that  our  thanks  be  and  they  are  hereby  tendered  to 
the  Speaker  thereof."  Mr.  Blaine,  in  response,  in  adjourning 
the  House,  spoke  as  follows: 

Our  labors  are  at  an  end ;  but  I  delay  the  final  adjournment  long  enough  to 
return  my  most  profound  and  respectful  thanks  for  the  commendation  which  you 
have  been  pleased  to  bestow  upon  my  official  course  and  conduct. 

In  a  deliberative  body  of  this  character  a  presiding  officer  is  fortunate  if  he 
retains  the  confidence  and  steady  support  of  his  political  associates.  Beyond 
that  you  give  me  the  assurance  that  I  have  earned  the  respect  and  good-will  of 
those  from  whom  I  am  separated  by  party  lines.  Your  expressions  are  most 
grateful  to  me,  and  are  most  gratefully  acknowledged. 

The  Congress  whose  existence  closes  with  this  hour  enjoys  a  memorable  dis 
tinction.  It  is  the  first  in  which  all  the  States  have  been  represented  on  this 
floor  since  the  baleful  winter  that  preceded  our  late  bloody  war.  Ten  years  have 
passed  since  then — years  of  trial  and  triumph;  years  of  wild  destruction  and 
years  of  careful  rebuilding;  and  after  all,  and  as  the  result  of  all,  the  National 
<  Government  is  here  to-day,  united,  strong,  proud,  defiant  and  just,  with  a  terri 
torial  area  vastly  expanded,  and  with  three  additional  States  represented  on  the 
folds  of  its  Hag.  For  these  prosperous  fruits  of  our  great  struggle  let  us  humbly 
give  thanks  to  the  God  of  battle.-*  and  to  the  Prince  of  Peace. 

And  now,  gentlemen,  with  one  more  expression  of  the  obligation  I  feel  for 
the  considerate  kindness  with  which  you  h-ive  always  sustained  me,  I  perform 
the  only  remaining  duty  of  my  office  in  declaring,  as  I  now  do,  that  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  Forty-first  Congress  is  adjourned  without  day. 

When  the  Forty-second  Congress  convened,  on  the   4th 
day  of  March,  1871,  Mr.  Blaine  was  re-elected,  the  votes  stand- 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  $-j 

ing:  James  G.  Elaine,  126;  George  W.  Morgan,  92.  Mr. 
Blaine,  on  being  conducted  to  the  chair  and  resuming  his  old 
place,  addressed  the  Hou.se  as  follows : 

The  Speakership  of  the  American  House  of  Representatives  has  always  been 
esteemed  as  an  enviable  honor.  A  re-election  to  the  position  carries  with  it 
peculiar  gratification,  in  that  it  implies  an  approval  of  past  official  bearing.  For 
this  great  mark  of  your  confidence  I  can  but  return  to  you  my  sincerest  thanks, 
with  the  assurance  of  my  utmost  devotion  to  the  duties  which  you  call  upon  me 
to  discharge. 

Chosen  by  the  party  representing  the  political  majority  in  this  House,  the 
Speaker  owes  a  faithful  allegiance  to  the  principles  and  policy  of  that  party. 
But  he  will  fall  far  below  the  honorable  requirements  of  his  station  if  he  fails  to 
give  to  the  minority  their  full  rights  under  the  rules  which  he  is  called  upon  to 
administer.  The  successful  working  of  our  grand  system  of  government  depends 
largely  upon  the  vigilance  of  party  organizations,  and  the  most  wholesome  legis 
lation  which  this  House  produces  and  perfects  is  that  which  results  from  oppos 
ing  forces  mutually  eager  and  watchful  and  well-nigh  balanced  in  numbers. 

The  Forty-second  Congress  assembles  at  a  period  of  general  content,  happi 
ness  and  prosperity  throughout  the  land.  Under  the  wise  administration  of  the 
National  Government  peace  reigns  in  all  our  borders,  and  the  only  serious  mis 
understanding  with  any  foreign  power  is,  we  may  hope,  at  this  moment  in  pro 
cess  of  honorable,  cordial  and  lasting  adjustment.  We  are  fortunate  in  meeting 
at  such  a  time,  in  representing  such  constituencies,  in  legislating  for  such  a 
country. 

Trusting,  gentlemen,  that  our  official  intercourse  may  be  free  from  all  personal 
asperity,  believing  that  all  our  labors  will  eventuate  for  the  public  good,  and 
craving  the  blessing  of  Him  without  whose  aid  we  labor  in  vain,  I  am  now 
ready  to  proceed  with  the  further  organization  of  the  House ;  and,  as  the  first 
step  thereto,  I  will  myself  take  the  oath  prescribed  by  the  Constitution  and  laws. 

Mr.  Blaine  was  so  often  attacked  while  in  Congress  upon  one 
thing  and  another,  and,  whenever  he  had  an  opportunity  of 
replying,  so  completely  demolished  his  assailant  that  it  is  a 
matter  of  some  surprise  tbat  the  gentlemen  of  the  opposition 
never  seemed  to  learn  wisdom  from  experience  and  to  let  him 
alone.  He  was  instant,  sharp,  quick,  direct,  strong  to  repel  an 
assault,  and  we  dip  here  into  the  vast,  often  dreary,  pages  of  the 
Congressional  Record  to  quote  his  colloquy  with  General  But- 
ler — then  a  Representative  from  Massachusetts — who  had  in 
dulged  in  criticisms  upon  the  Speaker  for  being  the  author  of 
the  resolution  "  providing  for  an  investigation  into  alleged  out- 


90  HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

rages  perpetrated  upon  loyal  citizens  of  the  South,"  and  for 
being  mainly  responsible  for  its  adoption  by  a  caucus  of  Re 
publican  members  of  the  House.  This  was  on  the  i6th  of 
March,  1871.  Mr.  Blaine  at  once  left  the  chair  and  took  the 
floor  in  his  defence.  The  record  reads  as  follows : 

Mr.  Blaine,  the  Speaker.  [Mr.  Wheeler,  of  New  York,  in  the  chair.]  I 
desire  to  ask  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  (Mr.  Butler)  whether  he  denies 
to  me  the  right  to  have  drawn  that  resolution  ? 

Mr.  Butler.     I  have  made  no  assertion  on  that  subject  one  way  or  the  other. 

Mr.  Blaine.     Did  not  the  gentleman  distinctly  know  that  I  drew  it  ? 

Mr.  Butler.     No,  sir. 

Mr.  Blaine.     Did  I  not  take  it  to  the  gentleman  and  read  it  to  him  ? 

Mr.  Butler.     Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Blaine.     Did  I  not  show  him  the  manuscript  ? 

Mr.  Butler.     Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Blaine.     In  my  own  handwriting? 

Mr.  Butler.     No,  sir. 

Mr.  Blaine.  And  at  his  suggestion  I  added  these  words :  "And  the  expenses 
of  said  committee  shall  be  paid  from  the  contingent  fund  of  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives"  [applause],  and  the  fact  that  ways  and  means  were  wanted  to  pny 
the  expenses  was  the  only  objection  he  made  to  it. 

Mr.  Butler.  What  was  the  answer  the  gentleman  made?  I  suppose  I  may 
ask  that,  now  that  the  Speaker  has  come  upon  the  floor. 

Mr.  Blaine.  The  answer  was  that  I  immediately  wrote  the  amendment  pro 
viding  for  the  payment  of  the  expenses  of  the  committee. 

Mr.  Butler.  What  was  my  answer?  Was  it  not  that  under  no  circumstances 
would  I  have  anything  to  do  with  it,  being  bound  by  the  action  of  the  caucus  ? 

Mr.  Blaine.  No,  sir;  the  answer  was  that  under  no  circumstances  would  you 
serve  as  chairman. 

Mr.  Butler.     Or  have  anything  to  do  with  the  resolution. 

Mr.  Blaine.  There  are  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  members  of  the  House 
of  Representatives.  A  committee  of  thirteen  can  be  found  without  the  gentle 
man  from  Massachusetts  being  on  it.  His  service  is  not  essential  to  the  consti 
tution  of  the  committee. 

Mr.  Btttler.     Why  did  you  not  find  such  a  committee,  then? 

Mr.  Blaine.  Because  I  knew  very  well  that  if  I  omitted  the  appointment  of 
the  gentleman  it  would  be  heralded  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
country,  by  the  claquers  who  have  so  industriously  distributed  this  letter  this 
morning,  that  the  Speaker  had  packed  the  commiitee,  as  the  gentleman  said  lie- 
would,  with  "weak-kneed  Republicans,"  who  would  not  go  into  an  investiga 
tion  vigorously,  as  he  would.  That  was  the  reason.  [Applause.]  So  that  the 
Chair  laid  the  responsibility  upon  the  gentleman  of  declining  the  appointment. 

Mr.  Butler.     I  knew  that  was  the  trick  of  the  Chair. 

Mr.  Blaine.  Ah,  the  "trick!"  We  now  know  what  the  gentleman  meant 
by  the  word  "  trick."  I  am  very  glad  to  know  that  the  "  trick"  was  successful. 

Mr.  Butler.     No  doubt. 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  Ql 

Mr.  Blaine.  It  is  this  "  trick  "  which  places  the  gentleman  from  Massachu 
setts  on  his  responsibility  before  the  country. 

Mr.  Butler.     Exactly. 

Mr.  Elaine.     Wholly. 

Mr.  Butler.     Wholly. 

Mr.  Blaine.  Now,  sir,  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  talks  about  the  co 
ercion  by  which  fifty  eight  Republicans  were  made  to  vote  for  the  resolution.  I 
do  not  know  what  any  one  of  them  may  have  to  say ;  but  if  there  be  here  to-day 
a  single  gentleman  who  has  given  to  the  gentleman  of  Massachusetts  the  intima 
tion  that  he  felt  coerced — that  he  was  in  any  way  restrained  from  free  action, 
let  him  get  up  now  and  speak,  or  forever  after  hold  his  peace. 

Mr.  Butler.     Oh,  yes. 

Mr.  Blaine.  The  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  says :  "  Having  been  ap 
pointed  against  my  wishes,  expressed  both  publicly  and  privately,  by  the  Speaker, 
as  chairman  of  a  committee  to  investigate  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  South,  ordered 
to-day  by  Democratic  vo'.es,  against  the  most  earnest  protest  of  more  than  a  two- 
thirds  majority  of  the  Republicans  of  the  House." 

Mr.  Butler.     Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Blaine.  This  statement  is  so  bold  and  groundless  that  I  do  not  know  what 
reply  to  make  to  it.  It  is  made  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  on  the  roll-call  fifty- 
eight  Republicans  voted  for  the  resolution,  and  forty-nine,  besides  the  gentleman 
from  Massachusetts,  against  it.  I  deny  that  the  gentleman  has  the  right  to  speak 
for  any  member  who  voted  for  it,  unless  it  may  be  the  member  from  Tennessee 
(Mr.  Maynard),  who  voted  for  it,  for  the  purpose,  probably,  of  moving  a  recon 
sideration — a  very  common,  a  very  justifiable  and  proper  course  whenever  any 
gentleman  chooses  to  adopt  it.  I  am  not  criticising  it  at  all.  But  if  there  be 
any  one  of  the  fifty-eight  gentlemen  who  voted  for  the  resolution  under  coercion 
I  would  like  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  to  designate  him. 

Mr.  Butler.     I  am  not  here  to  retail  private  conversations. 

Mr.  Blaine.  Oh,  no;  but  you  will  distribute  throughout  the  entire  country 
unfounded  calumnies  purporting  to  rest  upon  assertions  made  in  private  conver 
sations,  which,  when  called  for,  cannot  be  verified. 

Mr.  Butler.     Pardon  me,  sir.     I  said  there  was  a  caucus 

Mr.  Blaine.  I  hope  God  will  pardon  you ;  but  you  ought  not  to  ask  me  to  do 
it !  [Laughter.] 

Air.  Butler.     I  will  ask  God,  and  not  you. 

Mr.  Blaine.     I  am  glad  the  gentleman  will. 

Mr.  Butltr.  I  have  no  favors  to  ask  of  the  devil.  And  let  me  say  that  the 
caucus  agreed  upon  a  definite  mode  of  action. 

Mr.  Blaine.  The  caucus!  Now,  let  me  say  here  and  now,  that  the  Chair 
man  of  that  caucus,  sitting  on  my  right,  "a  chevalier,"  in  legislation,  "sans 
peur  et  sans  reproche"  the  gentleman  from  Michigan  (Mr.  Austin  Blair)  stated, 
as  a  man  of  honor,  as  he  is,  that  he  was  bound  to  say  officially  from  the  Chair 
that  it  was  not  considered,  and  could  not  be  considered  binding  upon  gentlemen. 
And  more  than  that.  Talk  about  tricks !  Why,  the  very  infamy  of  political 
trickery  never  compassed  a  design  so  foolish  and  so  wicked  as  to  bring  together 
a  caucus,  and  attempt  to  pledge  them  to  the  support  of  measures  which  might 
violate  not  only  the  political  principles,  but  the  religious  faith  of  men — to  the 
support  of  the  bill  drawn  by  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts,  which  might 


92  HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

violate  the  conscientious  scruples  of  men.  And  yet,  forsooth,  he  comes  in  here 
and  declares  that  whatever  a  caucus  may  determine  upon,  however  hastily,  how 
ever  crudely,  however  wrongfully,  you  must  support  it !  Why,  even  in  the  worst 
days  of  the  Democracy,  when  the  gentleman  himself  was  in  the  front  rank  of 
the  worst  wing  of  it,  when  was  it  ever  attempted  to  say  that  a  majority  of  a  party 
caucus  could  bind  men  upon  measures  that  involved  questions  of  constitutional 
law,  of  personal  honor,  of  religions  scruple  ?  The  gentleman  asked  what  would 
have  been  done — he  asked  my  colleague  (Mr.  Peters)  what  would  have  been 
done  in  case  of  members  of  a  party  voting  against  the  caucus  nominee  for 
Speaker.  I  understand  that  was  intended  as  a  thrust  at  myself.  .  Caucus  nomi 
nations  of  officers  have  always  been  held  as  binding.  But,  just  here,  let  me  say, 
that  if  a  minority  did  not  vote  against  the  decision  of  the  caucus  that  nominated 
me  for  Speaker,  in  my  judgment,  it  was  not  the  fault  of  the  gentleman  from 
Massachusetts.  [Applause.]  If  the  requisite  number  could  have  been  found  to 
have  gone  over  to  the  despised  Na/arenes  on  the  opposite  side,  that  gentleman 
would  have  led  them  as  gallantly  as  he  did  the  forces  in  the  Charleston  Conven 
tion.  [Renewed  applause  and  laughter.] 

Mr.  Speaker,  in  old  times  it  was  the  ordinary  habit  of  the  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  to  take  part  in  debate.  The  custom  has  fallen  into 
disuse.  For  one,  I  am  very  glad  that  it  has.  For  one,  I  approve  of  the  conclu 
sion  that  forbids  it.  The  Speaker  should,  with  consistent  fidelity  to  his  own 
party,  be  the  impartial  administrator  of  the  rules  of  the  House,  and  a  constant 
participation  in  the  discussions  of  members  would  take  from  him  that  appearance 
of  impartiality  which  it  is  so  important  to  maintain  in  the  rulings  of  the  Chair. 
But  at  the  same  time  I  despise  and  denounce  the  insolence  of  the  gentleman 
from  Massachusetts  when  he  attempts  to  say  that  the  Representative  from  the 
Third  District  of  the  State  of  Maine  has  no  right  to  frame  a  resolution;  has  no 
right  to  seek  that  under  the  rules  that  resolutions  shall  be  adopted;  has  no  right 
to  ask  the  judgment  of  the  House  upon  that  resolution.  Why,  even  the  insolence 
of  the  gentleman  himself  never  reached  that  sublime  height  before. 

Now,  Mr.  Speaker,  nobody  regrets  more  sincerely  than  I  do  any  occurrence 
which  calls  me  to  take  the  floor.  On  questions  of  propriety,  I  appeal  to  members 
on  both  sides  of  the  House,  and  they  will  bear  me  witness,  that  the  circulation  of 
this  letter  in  the  morning  prints;  its  distribution  throughout  the  land  by  tele 
graph  ;  the  laying  it  upon  the  desks  of  members,  was  intended  to  be  by  the  gen 
tleman  from  Massachusetts,  not  openly  and  boldly,  but  covertly — I  v/ill  not  use  a 
stronger  phrase — an  insult  to  the  Speaker  of  this  House.  As  such  I  resent  it. 
I  denounce  it  in  all  its  essential  statements,  and  in  all  its  misstatements,  and  in 
all  its  mean  inferences  and  meaner  inuendoes.  I  denounce  the  letter  as  ground 
less  without  justification  ;  and  the  gentleman  himself,  I  trust,  will  live  to  see  the 
day  when  he  will  be  ashamed  of  having  written  it. 

When  the  second  session  of  the  Forty-second  Congress 
adjourned  finally,  on  the  8th  day  of  June,  1872,  Mr.  Niblack, 
of  Indiana,  took  the  Chair  temporarily,  and  Mr.  Samuel  J. 
Randall,  of  Pennsylvania,  submitted  the  following  resolution : 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  93 

"  Resolved,  that  the  thanks  of  this  House  are  due,  and  are 
hereby  tendered,  to  James  G.  Elaine,  Speaker  of  the  House, 
for  the  able,  prompt  and  impartial  manner  in  which  he  has 
discharged  the  duties  of  his  office  during  the  present  session." 
On  the  3d  of  the  March  following,  Mr.  Voorhees,  of  Indi 
ana,  gave  additional  testimony  to  the  popularity  Mr.  Elaine 
enjoyed  in  the  office  of  Speaker,  when  he  presented  a  resolu 
tion  giving  the  thanks  of  the  House  to  its  head  officer,  which 
resolution,  he  said,  "  had  the  sincere  sanction  of  his  head  and 
heart."  When  the  House  adjourned,  Mr.  Elaine  spoke  as 
follows : 

For  the  Forty-second  time  since  the  Federal  Government  was  organized,  its 
great  representative  body  stands  on  the  eve  of  dissolution.  The  final  word 
which  separates  us  is  suspended  for  a  moment  that  I  may  return  my  sincere 
thanks  for  the  kind  expressions  respecting  my  official  conduct,  which,  without 
division  of  party,  you  have  caused  to  be  entered  on  your  journal. 

At  the  close  of  four  years  service  in  this  responsible  and  often  trying  position, 
it  is  a  source  of  honorable  pride  that  I  have  so  administered  my  trust  as  to 
secure  the  confidence  and  approbation  of  both  sides  of  the  House.  It  would  not 
be  strange  if,  in  the  necessarily  rapid  discharge  of  the  daily  business,  I  should 
have  erred  in  some  of  the' decisions  made  on  points,  and  often  without  precedent 
to  guide  me.  It  has  been  my  good  fortune,  however,  to  be  always  sustained  by 
the  House,  and  in  no  single  instance  to  have  had  a  ruling  reversed.  I  advert  to 
this  gratifying  fact,  to  quote  the  language  of  the  most  eloquent  of  my  predeces 
sors,  "  in  no  vain  spirit  of  exhaltation,  but  as  furnishing  a  powerful  motive  for 
undissembled  gratitude." 

And  now,  gentlemen,  with  a  hearty  God  bless  you  all,  I  discharge  my  only 
remaining  duty  in  declaring  that  the  House  of  Representatives  for  the  Forty- 
second  Congress  is  adjourned  without  day. 

On  the  2d  of  December,  1873,  Mr.  Elaine  was  chosen 
Speaker  for  the  third  time,  receiving  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
nine  votes,  to  eighty  cast  for  all  others.  His  address  to  the 
House  was  as  follows  : 

The  vote  this  moment  announced  by  the  Clerk  is  such  an  expression  of  your 
confidence  as  calls  for  my  sincerest  thanks.  To  be  chosen  Speaker  of  the 
American  House  of  Representatives  is  always  an  honorable  distinction;  to  be 
chosen  a  third  time  enhances  the  honor  more  than  three-fold ;  to  be  chosen  by 
the  largest  body  that  ever  assembled  in  the  Capitol  imposes  a  burden  of  responsi 
bility  which  only  your  indulgent  kindness  could  embolden  me  to  assume. 

6 


94  "ON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

The  first  occupant  of  this  Chair  presided  over  a  House  of  sixty-five  members, 
representing  a  population  far  below  the  present  aggregate  of  the  State  of  New 
York.  At  that  time  in  the  whole  United  States  there  were  not  fifty  thousand 
civilized  inhabitants  to  be  found  one  hundred  miles  distant  from  the  flow  of  the 
Atlantic  tide.  To-day,  gentlemen,  a  large  body  of  you  come  from  beyond  that 
limit,  and  represent  districts  then  peopled  only  by  the  Indian  and  adventurous 
frontiersman.  The  National  Government  is  not  yet  as  old  as  many  of  its  citi 
zens;  but  in  this  brief  span  of  time,  less  than  one  lengthened  life,  it  has,  under 
God's  providence,  extended  its  power  until  a  continent  is  the  field  of  its  empire 
and  attests  the  majesty  of  its  law. 

With  the  growth  of  new  States  and  the  resulting  changes  in  the  centres  of 
population,  new  interests  are  developed,  rival  to  the  old,  but  by  no  means  hos 
tile,  diverse  but  not  antagonistic.  Nay,  rather  are  all  these  interests  in  harmony ; 
and  the  true  science  of  just  government  is  to  give  to  each  its  full  and  fair  play, 
oppresMMg  none  by  undue  exaction,  favoring  none  by  undue  privilege.  It  is  this 
great  lesson  which  our  daily  experience  is  teaching  us,  binding  us  together  more 
closely,  making  our  mutual  dependence  more  manifest,  and  causing  us  to  feel, 
whether  we  live  in  the  North  or  in  the  South,  in  the  East  or  in  the  \Vest,  that 
we  have  indeed  but  "  one  country,  one  Constitution,  one  destiny." 

At  the  expiration  of  the  Forty-third  Congress,  on  the  3d 
of  March,  1875,  the  thanks  of  the  House,  upon  motion  of 
Mr.  Potter,  were  again  given  to  Mr.  Elaine  for  his  "  impartial 
ity,  efficiency,  and  distinguished  ability  in  the  office  of 
Speaker."  On  the  same  day,  when  the  clock  indicated  that 
the  hour  of  the  dissolution  of  the  Forty-third  Congress  had 
arrived,  Speaker  Blaine  delivered  the  following  valedictory 
address : 

I  close  with  this  hour  a  six  years'  service  as  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives — a  period  surpassed  in  length  by  but  two  of  my  predecessors,  and 
equaled  by  only  two  others.  The  rapid  mutations  of  personal  and  political  for 
tunes  in  this  country  have  limited  the  great  majority  of  those  who  have  occupied 
this  Chair  to  shorter  terms  of  office. 

It  would  be  the  gravest  insensibility  to  the  honors  and  responsibilities  of  life, 
not  to  be  deeply  touched  by  so  signal  a  mark  of  public  esteem  as  that  which  I 
have  thrice  received  at  the  hands  of  my  political  associates.  I  desire  in  this  la>t 
moment  to  renew  to  them,  one  and  all,  my  thanks  and  my  gratitude. 

To  those  from  whom  I  differ  in  my  party  relations — the  minority  of  this  Hou^e 
— I  tender  my  acknowledgments  for  the  generous  courtesy  with  which  they 
have  treated  me.  By  one  of  those  sudden  and  deci>jve  changes  which  dis  in- 
guish  popular  institutions,  and  which  conspicuously  mark  a  free  people,  that 
minority  is  transformed  in  the  ensuing  Congress  to  the  govprnjng  power  of  tho 
House.  However  it  might  possibly  have  been  under  other  circumstances,  that 
event  renders  these  words  my  farewell  to  the  Chair. 


HON.    JAMES   G.   BLAINE.  95 

The  Speakership  of  the  American  House  of  Representatives  is  a  post  of  honor, 
of  dignity,  of  power,  of  responsibility.  Its  duties  are  at  once  complex  an.d~  con 
tinuous  ;  they  are  both  onerous  and  delicate;  they  are  performed  in  the  broad 
light  of  day,  under  the  eye  of  the  whole  people,  subject  at  all  times  to  the  closest 
observation,  and  always  attended  with  the  sharpest  criticism.  I  think  no  other 
official  is  htld  to  such  instant  and  such  rigid  accountability.  Parlinmentary 
rulings  in  their  very  nature  are  peremptory  :  almost  absolute  in  authority  and  in 
stantaneous  in  effect.  They  cannot  always  be  enforced  in  such  a  way  as  to  win 
applause  or  secure  popularity ;  but  I  am  sure  that  no  man  of  any  party  who  is 
worthy  to  fill  this  chair  will  ever  see  a  dividing  line  between  duty  and  policy. 

Thanking  you  once  more,  and  thanking  you  most  cordially  for  the  honorable 
testimonial  you  have  placed  on  record  to  my  credit,  I  perform  my  only  remain 
ing  duty  in  declaring  that  the  Forty-third  Congress  has  reached  its  constitutional 
limit,  and  that  the  House  of  Representatives  stands  adjourned  without  day. 

It  is  worth  saying  over  again  that  no  man,  since  Clay's 
Speakership,  presided  with  such  an  absolute  knowledge  of  the 
rules  of  the  House,  or  with  so  great  a  mastery,  in  the  rapid, 
intelligent,  and  faithful  discharge  of  the  business.  His  knowl 
edge  of  parliamentary  law  was  instinctive  and  complete,  and 
his  administration  of  it  so  fair,  that  both  sides  of  the  House 
united,  at  the  close  of  each  Congress,  as  has  already  been  said, 
in  cordial  thanks  for  his  impartiality. 

The  political  revulsion  of  1874  drove  him  from  the  platform 
to  the  floor.  Here  his  true  strength  was  instantly  demon 
strated.  For,  just  as  parliamentary  tact  and  self-possession 
had  rendered  him  one  of  the  best  presiding  officers  who  ever 
occupied  the  Speaker's  chair,  his  audacity  and  versatility  made 
him  one  of  the  most  daring  and  aggressive  leaders  ever  seen 
upon  the  floor.  Even  more  marked,  at  least  in  the  public  eye, 
than  was  his  career  as  Speaker,  was  his  course  when  he  turned 
over  the  chair  that  the  march  of  events  had  deeded  to  Mr. 
Randall.  Few  have  forgotten  the  sudden  tilt  by  which,  in  a 
day,  a  victorious  and  exultant  Democratic  majority  was 
changed  into  a  surprised,  subdued  and  saddened  crowd,  upon 
Mr.  Elaine's  aggressive  and  unexpected  tactics.  The  debates  of 
that  memorable  session  on  the  proposition  to  remove  the  dis- 


96  HON.    JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

abilities  of  Jefferson  Davis  are  still  fresh  in  all  minds,  and 
more  apt,  perhaps,  to  be  appreciated  to-day  than  at  any  time 
in  the  last  few  years.  Mr.  Blaine's  speeches  laid  the  founda 
tion  of  success  in  the  then  approaching  campaign.  One  of 
his  first  speeches  after  resigning  the  gavel  was  on  the  Amnesty 
bill.  From  this  speech  we  extract  as  follows: 

Every  time  the  question  of  amnesty  has  been  brought  before  the  House,  by  a 
gentleman  on  that  side  for  the  last  two  Congresses,  it  has  been  done  with  a 
certain  flourish  of  magnanimity  which  is  an  imputation  on  this  side  of  the  House, 
as  though  the  Republican  party  which  has  been  in  charge  of  the  Government 
for  the  last  twelve  or  fourteen  years  had  been  bigoted,  narrow,  and  illiberal,  and 
as  though  certain  very  worthy  and  deserving  gentlemen  in  the  Southern  Stales 
were  ground  down  to-day  under  a  great  tyranny  and  oppression,  from  which  the 
hardheartedness  of  this  side  of  the  House  cannot  possibly  be  prevailed  upon  to 
relieve  them. 

If  I  may  anticipate  as  much  wisdom  as  ought  to  characterize  that  side  of  the 
House,  this  may  be  the  last  time  that  amnesty  will  be  discussed  in  the  American 
Congress.  I  therefore  desire,  and  under  the  rules  of  the  House,  with  no  thanks 
to  that  side  for  the  privilege,  to  pi  .ice  on  record  just  what  the  Republican  piny 
has  done  in  this  matter.  I  wish  to  place  it  there  as  an  imperishable  record  of 
liberality  and  l.irge-mimledness,  and  magnanimity,  and  mercy  far  beyond  any 
that  has  ever  been  shown  before  in  the  world's  history  by  conqueror  to  Conquered. 

With  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  (MR.  RANDALL)  I  entered  Congress 
in  the  midst  of  the  hot  flame  of  war,  when  the  Union  was  rocking  to  its  founda 
tions,  and  no  man  knew  whether  we  were  to  have  a  country  or  not.  I  think  the 
gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  would  have  been  surprised,  when  he  and  I  were 
novices  in  the  Thirty-eighth  Congress,  if  he  could  have  foreseen  before  our  joint 
service  ended,  we  should  have  seen  sixty  one  gentlemen,  then  in  arms  against 
us,  admitted  to  equal  privileges  with  ourselves,  and  all  by  the  grace  and  mag 
nanimity  of  the  Republican  party.  When  the  war  ended,  according  to  the  uni 
versal  usages  of  nations,  the  Government,  then  under  the  exclusive  control  of  the 
Republican  party,  had  the  right  to  determine  what  should  be  the  political  status 
ot  the  people  who  had  been  defeated  in  war.  Did  we  inaugurate  any  measures 
of  persecution?  Did  we  set  forth  on  a  career  of  bloodshed  and  vengeance? 
Did  we  take  property?  Did  we  prohibit  any  man  all  his  civil  rights?  Did  we 
take  away  from  him  the  right  he  enjoys  to-day  to  vote? 

Not  at  all.  But  instead  of  a  general  and  sweeping  condemnation  the  Re 
publican  party  placed  in  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution  only  this 
exclusion  ;  afier  considering  the  whole  subject  it  ended  it,  simply  coming  down  to 
tlii.; 

"  That  no  person  shall  be  a  Senator  or  Representative  in  Congress,  or  Elector 
of  President  or  Vice-President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or  military,  under  the 
United  States  or  under  any  State,  who,  having  previously  taken  an  oath  as  a 
member  of  Congress,  or  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States,  or  as  a  member  of 
any  Stale  Legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any  State,  to  sup- 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  97 

port  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  shall  have  engaged  in  insurrection  or 
rebellion  against  the  same,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  thereof.  But 
Congress  may,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each  House,  remove  such  disability." 

It  has  been  variously  estimated  that  this  section  at  the  time  of  its  original  in 
sertion  in  the  Constitution  included  somewhere  from  fourteen  to  thirty  thousand 
persons  :  as  nearly  as  I  can  gather  together  the  facts  of  the  case,  it  included 
about  eighteen  thousand  men  in  the  South.  It  let  go  every  man  of  the  hundreds 
of  thousands — or  millions,  if  you  please — who  had  been  engaged  in  the  attempt 
to  destroy  this  Government,  and  only  held  those  under  disability  who  in  addi 
tion  to  revolting  had  violated  a  special  and  peculiar  and  personal  oath  to  sup 
port  the  Constitution  of  the  United  Slates.  It  was  limited  to  that. 

Well,  that  disability  was  hardly  placed  upon  the  South  until  we  began  in  this 
hall  and  in  the  other  wing  of  the  Capitol,  when  there  were  more  than  two-thirds 
Republicans  in  both  branches,  to  remit  it,  and  the  very  first  bill  took  that  dis 
ability  off  from  1,578  citizens  of  the  South;  and  the  next  bill  took  it  off  from 
3,526  gentlemen — by  wholesale.  Many  of  the  gentlemen  on  this  floor  came  in 
for  grace  and  amnesty  in  those  two  bills.  After  these  bills  specifying  individuals 
had  passed,  and  othets,  of  smaller  numbers,  which  I  will  not  recount,  the  Con 
gress  of  the  United  States  in  1872,  by  two-thirds  of  both  branches,  still  being  two- 
thirds  Republican,  passed  this  general  law  : 

44  That  all  political  disabilities  imposed  by  the  Third  Section  of  the  Fourteenth 
Article  of  Amendments  of  the  Constitution  of  the"  United  States  are  hereby  re 
moved  from  all  persons  whomsoever,  except  Senators  and  Representatives  of  the 
Thirty-sixth  and  Thirty-seventh  Congresses,  officers  in  the  judicial,  military,  and 
naval  service  of  the  United  States,  heads  of  departments,  and  foreign  ministers 
of  the  United  States." 

Since  that  act  parsed  a  very  considerable  number  of  the  gentlemen  -who  are 
s:ill  left  under  disability  have  been  relieved  spt daily,  by  name,  in  separate  acts. 
But  I  believe,  Mr.  Speaker,  in  no  single  instance  since  the  act  of  May  22,  1872, 
have  the  disabilities  been  taken  from  any  man  except  upon  his  respectful  petition 
to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  that  they  should  be  removed.  And  I 
believe  in  no  instance,  except  one,  have  they  been  refused  upon  the  petition 
being  presented.  I  believe  in  no  instance,  except  one,  has  there  been  any  other 
than  a  unanimous  vote. 

Now,  I  find  there  are  widely  varying  opinions  in  regard  to  the  number  that  are 
still  under  disabilities  in  the  South. 

I  have  had  occasion,  by  conference  with  the  Departments  of  War  and  of 
the  Navy,  and  with  the  assistance  of  some  records  which  I  have  caused  to  be 
searched,  to  be  able  to  state  to  the  House,  I  believe,  with  more  accuracy  than 
it  has  been  stated  hitherto,  just  the  number  of  gentlemen  in  the  South  still  under 
disabilities.  Those  who  were  officers  of  the  United  States  Army,  educated  at  its 
own  expense  at  West  Point,  and  who  joined  the  rebellion,  and  are  still  included 
under  this  act,  number,  as  nearly  as  the  War  Department  can  figure  it  up,  325  ; 
those  in  the  Navy  about  295.  Those  under  the  other  heads,  Senators  and  Rep 
resentatives  of  the  Thirty-sixth  and  Thirty-seventh  Congresses,  officers  in  the  ju 
diciary  service  of  the  United  States,  heads  of  departments,  and  foreign  ministers 
of  the  United  States,  make  up  a  number  somewhat  more  difficult  to  state  accu 
rately,  but  smaller  in  the  aggregate.  The  whole  sum  of  the  entire  list  is  about — 
it  is  probably  impossible  to  stale  it  with  entire  accuracy,  and  I  do  not  attempt  to 
do  that — is  about  750  persons  now  under  disabilities. 


98  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

I  am  very  frank  to  say  that  in  regard  to  all  these  gentlemen,  save  one,  I  do  not 
know  of  any  reason  why  amnesty  should  not  be  granted  to  them  as  it  has  been 
to  many  others  of  the  same  class.  I  am  not  here  to  argue  against  it. 

Mr.  Speaker,  this  is  not  a  proposition  to  punish  Jefferson  Darts.  There  is 
nobody  attempting  that.  I  will  very  frankly  say  that  1  myself  thought  the  in 
dictment  of  Mr.  Davis  at  Richmond,  under  the  administration  of  Mr.  Johnson, 
w  is  a  weak  attempt,  for  he  was  indicted  only  for  that  of  which  he  was  guilty  in 
common  with  all  others  who  went  into  the  Confederate  movement.  Therefore, 
there  was  no  particular  reason  for  it.  But  I  will  undertake  to  say  this,  and,  as  it 
may  be  considered  an  extreme  speech,  I  want  to  say  it  with  great  deliberation, 
that  there  is  not  a  government,  a  civilized  government,  on  the  face  of  the  globe— 
I  am  very  sure  there  is  not  a  European  government — that  would  not  have 
arrested  Mr.  Davis,  and  when  they  had  him  in  their  power  would  not  have  tried 
him  for  maltreatment  of  the  prisoners  of  war  and  shot  him  within  thirty  days. 
France,  Russia,  England,  Germany,  Austria,  any  one  of  them  would  have  done  it. 

There  is  no  proposition  here  to  punish  Jefferson  Davis.  Nobody  is  seeking  to 
do  it.  That  time  has  gone  by.  The  statute  of  liuu'tations,  common  feelings  of 
humanity  will  supervene  for  his  benefit.  But  what  you  ask  us  to  do  is  to  declare, 
by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  Ixjth  branches  of  Congress,  that  we  consider  Mr.  Davis 
worthy  to  fill  the  highest  offices  in  the  United  States,  if  he  can  get  a  constituency 
to  endorse  him.  He  is  a  voter;  he  can  buy  and  he  can  sell ;  he  can  go  and  he 
cnn  come.  He  is  as  free  as  any  man  in  the  United  States.  There  is  a  large  list 
of  subordinate  offices  to  which  he  is  eligible.  This  bill  proposes,  in  view  of  that 
record,  that  Mr.  Davis,  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  the  Senate  and  a  two-thirds  vote 
of  the  House,  be  declared  eligible  and  worthy  to  fill  any  office  up  to  the  Presi 
dency  of  the  United  States.  For  one,  upon  full  deliberation,  I  will  not  do  it. 

One  word  more,  Mr.  Speaker,  in  the  way  of  detail,  which  I  omitted  It  has 
often  been  said  in  mitigation  of  Jefferson  Davis,  in  the  Andersonville  matter,  that 
the  men  who  died  there  in  such  large  numbers  (I  think  the  victims  were  about 
fifteen  thousand)  fell  prey  to  an  epidemic,  and  died  of  a  disease  which  could  not 
be  aveited.  The  record  shows  that  out  of  thirty-five  thousand  men,  about  thirty- 
three  per  cent,  died  ;  that  is,  one  in  three,  while  of  the  soldiers  encamped  near 
by  to  take  care  and  guard  them,  only  one  man  in  four  hundred  died;  that  is, 
within  half  a  mile,  only  one  in  four  hundred  died. 

As  to  the  general  question  of  amnesty,  Mr.  Speaker,  ns  I  have  already  said, 
it  is  too  late  to  debate  it.  It  has  gone  by.  Whether  it  has  in  all  respects  been 
wise,  or  whether  it  has  been  unwise,  I  would  not  detain  the  House  here  to  dis 
cuss.  Even  if  I  had  a  strong  conviction  upon  that  question,  I  do  not  know  that 
it  would  be  productive  of  any  great  good  to  enunciate  it ;  but,  at  the  same  time, 
it  is  a  very  singular  spectacle  that  the  Republican  party,  in  possession  of  the  en 
tire  government,  have  deliberately  called  back  into  political  power  the  leading 
men  of  the  South,  every  one  of  whom  turns  up  its  bitter  and  relentless  and 
malignant  foe  ;  and  to  day,  from  the  Potomac  to  the  Rio  Grande,  the  very  men 
who  have  received  this  amnesty  are  as  bu^y  as  they  can  be  in  consolidating  inlo 
one  compact  political  organization  the  old  slave  States,  just  as  they  were  before 
the  war.  We  see  the  banner  held  out  blazoned  again  with  the  inscription  that 
with  the  United  South  and  a  very  few  votes  from  the  North,  this  country  can  be 
governed.  I  want  the  people  to  understand  that  is  precisely  the  movement ; 
and  that  is  the  animus  and  intent.  1  do  not  think  offering  amnesty  to  the  seven 


HON.  JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  99 

hundred  and  fifty  men  who  are  now  without  it  will  hasten  or  retard  that  move 
ment.  I  Jo  not  think  the  granting  of  amnesty  to  Mr.  Davis  will  hasten  or  retard 
it,  or  that  refusing  it  will  do  either. 

I  hear  it  said,  "  We  will  lift  Mr.  Davis  again  into  great  consequence  by  refusing 
amnesty."  That  is  not  for  me  to  consider.  I  only  see  before  me,  when  his  name 
is  presented,  a  man  who,  by  the  wink  of  his  eye,  by  a  wave  of  his  hand,  by  a  nod 
of  his  head,  could  have  stopped  the  atrocity  at  Andersonville. 

Some  of  us  had  kinsmen  there,  most  of  us  had  friends  there,  all  of  us  had  coun 
trymen  there,  and  in  the  name  of  those  kinsmen,  friends,  and  countrymen,  I  here 
protest,  and  shall  with  my  vote  protest  against  their  calling  back  and  crowning 
with  the  honors  of  lull  American  citizenship  the  man  who  organized  that  murder. 

From  this  on  to  the  close  of  Mr.  Elaine's  career  in  the  lower 
House  of  Representatives  he  never  lost  sight  of  the  great  busi 
ness  of  legislation  nor  the  great  trusts  that  were  committed  to 
his  hands.  Well  may  we  say  of  him  as  he  said  of  another 
(of  Henry  Clay,  who  occupied  the  same  honor  preserved  by 
history  for  James  G.  Hlaine)  "othgr— men  have  excelled  him 
in  specific  powers,  but  in  tKe  rare  combinations  of  qualities 

^wMclir  constitute  at  once  fHe  matchless  leader  of  party  and  the 
^fatesman~of  con  slim  m^te~aijil1iy^anH  -ioexhausttbie  resource, 
EeTias  nev^rn&e^irsurpassed  by^n^rnan^sp^aking  the  English 

— tongue.! 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MR.  ELAINE  IN  THE  SENATE— A  NEW  LEAF  TURNED  IN  THE  GREAT  BOOK 
—!N  THE  CHAIR  OF  WEBSTER — MR.  ELAINE  AS  A  DEBATER — THE  JUNIOR 
SENATOR  AT  THE  FRONT. 

THE  whirligig  of  time  marks  strange  changes.  Little  men 
are  often  rushed  to  the  front,  pause  there,  are  stared  at  by 
the  multitude  as  a  multitude  always  stares  at  a  stranger ;  then, 
being  out  of  place,  they  are  lost  in  the  undertow.  Others, 
great  men,  are  whirled  to  the  front  by  accident,  although  no 
one  questioning  theip  ability  to  get  there.  Coming  suddenly 
into  possession  of  what  they  are  entitled  to,  they  absorb  the 
place  with  all  the  ease  of  long  and  rightful  possession. 

President  Grant,  in  1876,  appointed  Mr.  Lot  Morrill  to  the 
Secretaryship  for  the  Treasury,  just  vacated  by  Mr.  B.  H. 
Bristow.  It  became  necessary  to  fill  Mr.  Merrill's  place  in 
the  Senate.  Governor  Connor,  of  Maine,  appointed  Mr. 
Blaine  to  the  unexpired  term,  and  the  gentleman  from 
Augusta  took  his  seat  when  the  session  opened  in  December 
of  that  year. 

In  the  Senate  he  then  entered.  He  remained  until  called  to 
the  higher  office  in  Mr.  Garfield's  Cabinet,  having  been  elected 
to  serve  the  ensuing  term,  at  the  end  of  Mr.  Merrill's  term,  in 
1877,  which  therefore  gave  Mr.  Blaine  a  seat  until  March  4, 
1883.  His  great  prominence  in  national  politics  made  him  a 
conspicuous  figure  in  the  Senate  at  once,  immediately  upon 

(100) 


HON.   JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  IOI 

his  entrance,  and  he  broke  over  the  traditions  of  that  body 
which  required  that  new  members  should  allow  their  elders 
to  monopolize  the  debates,  with  such  impunity  and  such  good 
reason  that  his  seeming  transgression  was  very  welcome  to 
the  Senate  and  the  country. 

Many  were  at  first  inclined  to  regret  that  the  able  Speaker 
of  the  House,  the  dashing  and  brilliant  debater,  and  leader  in 
Committee  of  the  Whole,  should,  as  they  expressed  it,  be 
shelved  in  the  Senate.  The  event  proved  their  regrets  un 
founded,  and  it  would  be  hard  to  name  a  Senator  who  moved 
so  promptly  to  the  front,  and  who  stood  there  so  determinedly 
as  Blaine. 

The  Senate  contained  a  large  number  of  able  men  and 
skillful  debaters,  but  in  logic,  off-hand  discussion,  in  quick 
perception,  in  full  command  of  every  resource,  and  in  entire 
forgetfulness  of  self,  the  Senate  contained  no  man  superior  to 
Mr.  Blaine.  He  has  been  called  dramatic.  He  was  dramatic, 
but  not  because  he  posed,  but  because  he  was  absolutely 
natural,  and  nature  is  always  dramatic.  His  career  in  the 
upper  was  as  active  as  that  in  the  lower  branch.  He  took  a 
prominent  part  in  every  important  debate,  and  though  not 
fearing  to  differ  from  his  party,  was  always  a  strong  party 
man,  and  one  of  the  recognized  leaders  on  the  Republican 
side. 

Shortly  after  his  entrance  into  the  Senate  he  electrified  his 
confreres  by  a  display  of  his  fiery  eloquence  and  dramatic 
action.  Action  in  his  speech  plays  always  a  leading  part. 
Tfe^rcJ^stood  in  front  of  his  desk ;  but  moving  out  into  the 
aisle,  he  would  advance  toward  his  opponent  with  upraised, 
menacing^finger.  This  gave  great  effect  to  portions  of  his 
master  efforts^  He  could  be  witty,  wise,  sarcastic,  serious,  or 
otherwise,  as  the  occasion  warranted.  His  method  of  speak- 


102  HON.  JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

ing  was  generally  of  great  effect.  Once  he  summed  up  to 
sensational  applause  the  absurdity  of  the  South  being  alarmed 
at  the  existence  of  "sixty  troops  to  every  million  of  people  " 
among  them,  and  said :  "  The  entire  South  has  eleven  hun 
dred  and  fifty-five  soldiers  to  intimidate,  overrun,  oppose,  and 
destroy  the' liberties  of  fifteen  million  people.  In  the  South 
ern  States  there  are  twelve  hundred  and  three  counties.  If 
you  distribute  the  soldiers,  there  is  not  quite  one  for  each 
county,  and  when  I  give  the  counties  I  give  them  from  the 
census  of  1870.  If  you  distribute  them  territorially  there  is 
one  for  every  seven  hundred  square  miles  of  territory;  so 
that  if  you  make  a  territorial  distribution,  I  would  remind  the 
honorable  Senator  from  Delaware  (Bayard),  if  I  saw  him  in 
his  seat,  that  the  quota  for  his  State  would  be  '  one  ragged 
sergeant,  and  two  abreast/  as  the  old  song  has  it.  That  is  the 
force  ready  to  destroy  the  liberties  of  Delaware." 

On  another  occasion  he  remarked — illustrating  this  effective 
method  of  debate — in  a  speech  on  war  issues,  which  was 
begun  with  all  the  impressiveness  of  his  favorite  gesture : 
"All  the  war  measures  of  Abraham  Lincoln  are  to  be 
wiped  out,  say  leading  Democrats.  The  Bourbons  of  France 
busied  themselves,  I  believe,  after  the  restoration,  in  removing 
every  trace  of  Napoleon's  power  and  grandeur,  even  chiseling 
the  '  N  '  from  public  monuments  raised  to  perpetuate  his 
memory  ;  but  the  dead  man's  hand  from  St.  Helena  reached 
out  and  destroyed  them  in  their  pride  and  folly.  And  I  tell 
the  Senators  on  the  other  side  of  this  chamber — I  tell  the 
Democratic  party  North  and  South — South  in  the  lead  and 
North  following — that  the  slow,  unmoving  finger  of  scorn 
from  the  tomb  of  the  martyred  President  on  the  prairies  of 
Illinois  will  wither  and  destroy  them.  'Though  dead  he 
speakcth.'  " 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  1 03 

In  the  Senate  Mr.  Elaine  distinguished  himself,  as  he  had  in 
the  House,  by  his  sagacity,  coolness,  and  wisdom  as  a  party 
leader,  and  his  record  there,  as  elsewhere,  can  be  referred  to 
with  pleasure. 

On  the  Chinese  question  ho  was  a  pronounced  and  clear 
speaker,  and  was  openly  in  favor  of  regulating  and  restricting 
the  Asiatic  influx.  In  a  speech  delivered  in  the  Senate,  Feb 
ruary  13,  1879, he  said: 

"  Ought  we  to  exclude  them  (the  Chinese)  ?  The  question 
lies  in  my  mind  thus:  Either  the  Anglo-Saxon  rac£  will  pos 
sess  the  Pacific  slope  or  the  Mongolians  will  possess  it.  You 
giv<?  them  the  start  to-day,  with  the  keen  thrust  of  necessity 
behind  them  and  with  the  ease  of  transportation  before  them 
and  with  the  inducements  to  come,  while  we  are  filling  up  the 
other  portions  of  the  continent,  and  it  is  inevitable,  if  not  de 
monstrable,  that  they  will  occupy  that  great  space  of  country 
between  the  Sierra  and  the  Pacific  coast.  .  .  . 

"  In  a  republic  especially,  in  any  government  that  maintains 
itself,  the  unity  of  order  and  of  administration  is  in  the  family. 
The  immigrants  that  come  to  us  from  all  portions  of  the  Brit 
ish  islands,  from  Germany,  from  Sweden,  from  Norway,  from 
Denmark,  from  France,  from  Spain,  from  Italy,  come  here 
with  \\vtfamily  as  much  engraven  on  their  minds,  and  in  their 
customs,  and  in  their  habits  as  we  have  it.  The  Asiatic,  who 
brings  neither  wife  nor  child  with  him,  cannot  go  on  with  our 
population  and  make  a  homogeneous  element.  The  idea  of 
comparing  European  immigration  with  an  Asiatic  immigra 
tion  that  has  no  regard  to  family ;  that  does  not  recognize  the 
relation  of  husband  and  wife;  that- does  not  observe  the  tie 
of  parent  and  child;  that  does  not  have  in  the  slightest  degree 
the  ennobling  and  civilizing  influences  .of  the  hearthstone  and 
fireside!  Why,  when  gentlemen  talk  loosely  about  emigra 
tion  from  European  States,  as  contrasted  with  that,  they  are 
certainly  forgetting  history  and  forgetting  themselves." 

We  next  notice  his  opposition  to  the  bill  providing  for  an 


IO4  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

electoral  college.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks  he  said  :  "  Mr. 
President,  looking  at  the  measure  under  consideration  and 
looking  at  it  with  every  desire  to  co-operate  with  those  who 
are  so  warmly  advocating  it,  I  am  compelled  to  withhold  the 
support  of  my  vote.  I  am  not  prepared  to  vest  any  body  of 
men  with  the  tremendous  power  which  this  bill  gives  to  four 
teen  gentlemen,  four  of  whom  are  to  complete  their  number 
by  selecting  a  fifteenth,  and  selecting  a  fifteenth  under  such 
circumstances  as  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
land  impart  a  peculiar  interest,  I  might  say  an  absorbing  inter 
est  to  what  Mr.  Benton  termed  in  the  Texas  indemnity  bill, 
4  that  coy  and  bashful  blank.'  I  do  not  believe  that  Congress 
itself  has  the  power  which  it  proposes  to  confer  on  these  fifteen 
gentlemen.  I  do  not  profess  to  be  what  is  termed,  in  the  cur 
rent  phrase  of  the  day,  a  '  Constitutional  lawyer,'  but  every 
Senator  voting  under  the  obligations  of  his  oath  and  his  con 
science  must  ultimately  be  his  own  Constitutional  lawyer. 
And  I  deliberately  say  that  I  do  not  believe  that  Congress 
possesses  the  power  itself,  and  still  less  the  power  to  transfer 
to  any  body  of  fourteen,  or  fifteen,  or  fifty  gentlemen,  that 
with  which  it  is  now  proposed  to  invest  five  Senators,  five 
Representatives  and  five  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court.  I  did 
not  at  this  late  hour  of  the  night  rise  to  make  an  argument, 
but  merely  to  state  the  ground,  the  Constitutional  and  con 
scientious  ground,  on  which  I  feel  compelled  to  vote  against 
the  pending  bill.  I  have  had  a  great  desire  to  co-operate 
with  my  political  friends  who  are  advocating  it,  but  every  pos 
sible  inclination  of  that  kind  has  been  removed  and  dispelled 
by  the  very  arguments  brought  in  support  of  the  bill,  able 
and  exhaustive  as  they  have  been  on  that  side  of  the  ques 
tion." 

Senator  Elaine  opposed  President  Hayes'  Southern  policy, 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  1 05 

and  took  a  decided  stand  against  the  President's  action  in 
recognizing  the  Democratic  State  governments  in  South  Caro 
lina  and  Louisiana  in  the  spring  of  1877.  When  the  Senate 
considered  the  bill  authorizing  the  free  coinage  of  the  standard 
silver  dollar  and  restoring  its  legal  tender  character,  Mr. 
Elaine  offered  as  a  substitute  a  bill  which  contained  these 
three  propositions : 

"  I.  That  the  dollar  shall  contain  four  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  grains  of  standard  silver,  shall  have  unlimited  coinage,  and 
be  an  unlimited  legal  tender. 

"  2.  That  all  profits  of  coinage  shall  go  to  the  government, 
and  not  to  the  operator  in  silver  bullion. 

4<  3.  That  silver  dollars  or  silver  bullion,  assayed  and  mint- 
stamped,  may  be  deposited  with  the  Assistant  Treasurer  of 
New  York,  for  which  coin-certificates  may  be  issued,  the  same 
in  denomination  as  United  States  notes,  not  below  ten  dol 
lars,  and  that  these  shall  be  redeemable  on  demand  in  coin  or 
bullion,  thus  furnishing  a  paper  circulation  based  on  an  actual 
deposit  of  precious  metal,  giving  us  notes  as  valuable  as  those 
of  the  Bank  of  England,  and  doing  away  at  once  with  the 
dreaded  inconvenience  of  silver  on  account  of  bulk  and 
weight." 

In  concluding  his  speech  supporting  these  resolutions  (Feb 
ruary  7,  1878)  he  thus  defined  his  position: 

"  The  effect  of  paying  the  labor  of  this  country  in  silver  coin 
of  full  value,  as  compared  with  the  irredeemable  paper,  or  as 
compared  even  with  silver  of  inferior  value,  will  make  itself 
felt  in  a  single  generation  to  the  extent  of  tens  of  millions, 
perhaps  hundreds  of  millions,  in  the  aggregate  savings  which 
represent  consolidated  capital.  It  is  the  instinct  of  man  from 
the  savage  to  the  scholar — developed  in  childhood  and  re 
maining  with  age — to  value  the  metals  which  in  all  tongues 
are  called  precious.  Excessive  paper  money  leads  to  ex 
travagance,  to  waste,  and  to  want,  as  we  painfully  witness  on 


IO6  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

all  sides  to-day.  And  in  the  midst  of  the  proof  of  its  demor 
alizing  and  destructive  effect,  we  hear  it  proclaimed  in  the 
Halls  of  Congress  'that  the  people  demand  cheap  money.' 
I  deny  it.  1  declare  such  a  phrase  to  be  a  total  misapprehen 
sion — a  total  misinterpretation  of  the  popular  wish.  The  peo 
ple  do  not  demand  cheap  money.  They  demand  an  abundance 
of  good  money,  which  is  an  entirely  different  thing.  They  do 
not  want  a  single  gold  standard,  that  will  exclude  silver  and 
benefit  those  already  rich.  They  do  not  want  an  inferior 
silver  standard,  that  will  drive  out  gold  and  not  help  those 
already  poor.  They  want  both  metals,  in  full  value,  in  equal 
honor,  in  whatever  abundance  the  bountiful  earth  will  yield 
them  to  the  searching  eye  of  science  and  to  the  hard  hand  of 
labor. 

"  The  two  metals  have  existed,  side  by  side,  in  harmonious, 
honorable  companionship  as  money,  ever  since  intelligent 
trade  was  known  among  men.  It  is  well-nigh  forty  centuries 
since  'Abraham  weighed  to  Ephron  four  hundred  shekels  of 
silver — current  money  with  the  merchant.'  Since  that  time 
nations  have  risen  and  fallen,  races  have  disappeared,  dialects 
and  languages  have  been  forgotten,  arts  have  been  lost,  treas 
ures  have  perished,  continents  have  been  discovered,  islands 
have  been  sunk  in  the  sea,  and  through  all  these  ages  and 
through  all  these  changes  silver  and  gold  have  reigned  supreme, 
as  the  representatives  of  value,  as  the  media  of  exchange.  The 
dethronement  of  each  has  been  attempted  in  turn,  and  some 
times  the  dethronement  of  both  ;  but  always  in  vain  !  And  we 
are  here  to-day,  deliberating  anew  over  the  problem  which 
conies  down  to  us  from  Abraham's  time — the  weight  of  the 
silver,  that  shall  be  '  current  money  with  the  merchant.'  " 

Senator  Elaine  was  always  instinctive  with  life  upon  any 
question  that  touched  the  issues  of  1 86 1,  and  I  introduce  here, 
as  illustrative  of  this,  his  remarks  in  the  debate  on  March  I, 
1878,  on  the  bill  making  Appropriations  for  Arrears  of 
Pensions  : 

Mr.  President — The    Senator    from    Ohio   (Mr.    Thurman) 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  IO/ 

indulged  himself  in  a  line  of  remark  which  I  hardly  think  was 
justifiable.  He  was  arraigning  this  entire  side  of  the  Chamber 
for  running  at  the  name  of  Jefferson  Davis.  I  wish  to  say  to 
the  honorable  Senator  from  Ohio,  and  to  all  the  Senators  on 
that  side,  that,  neither  in  this  Chamber  nor  in  the  other  in 
which  I  have  served,  did  I  ever  hear  what  he  would  call  an 
attack  made  on  Jefferson  Davis,  until  he  was  borne  into  the 
Chamber  for  some  favor  to  be  asked  and  some  vote  to  be 
exacted.  Who  brought  him  here  to-night  ?  Who  has  brought 
him  into  Congress  at  different  times  ?  No  Republican.  No 
Republican  Senator  or  Representative  has  ever  asked  censure 
or  comment,  or  reference  to  him  ;  but  you  bring  him  here  and 
ask  us  either  to  vote  or  keep  silent :  and  if  we  don't  keep 
silent,  then  the  honorable  Senator  is  astonished  and  indignant, 
and  the  honorable  Senator  from  Mississippi  (Mr.  Lamar) 
thinks  that  a  wanton  insult  is  intended.  I  want  the  country 
to  understand  that  it  is  that  side  of  the  Chamber  and  not  this 
side  that  brings  Jefferson  Davis  to  the  front. 

Mr.  Thurman — I  wish  to  ask  the  Senator  to  explain  what  he 
means  by  bringing  Jefferson  Davis  here?  Does  he  mean 
introducing  the  proposition  to  pension  soldiers  who  served  in 
Mexico? 

Mr.  Elaine — Yes,  the  measure  you  are  agitating  brings  him 
here. 

Mr.  Thurman — Then  it  is  a  crime  ? 

Mr.  Elaine — Not  a  crime  at  all.  I  am  not  charging  the 
Senator  with  a  crime,  but  I  resent  with  some  little  feeling 
that  the  Senator  should  look  over  to  this  side  of  the  Chamber 
and  complain  that  we  are  taking  some  extraordinary  course 
with  the  name  of  Jefferson  Davis.  We  do  not  bring  him 
here.  You  bear  his  mangled  remains  before  us,  and  then  if 
we  do  not  happen  to  view  them  with  the  same  admiration  that 
seems  to  inspire  the  Senator  from  Ohio,  we  are  doing  some 
thing  derogatory  to  our  own  dignity  and  to  the  honor  of  the 
country,  and  when  the  honorable  Senator  from  Mississippi 
comes  to  his  defense,  the  first  word  he  had  to  speak  for  Mr. 
Davis  was  that  he  never  counseled  insurrection  against  the 
Government.  I  took  the  words  down. 


IO8  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

Mr,  Oglesby — Since  when  ? 

Mr.  Blainc — Since  the  close  of  the  war.  He  has  never 
counseled  insurrection  !  Let  us  be  thankful.  Why  should 
he  not  pension  a  man  who  has  shown  such  loyalty  that  he 
has  never  counseled  insurrection  ?  That  is  from  the  Repre 
sentative  of  his  own  State.  I  took  the  words  down  when  he 
spoke  them ;  I  was  amazed ;  I  did  not  exactly  consider  the 
words  of  the  honorable  Senator  from  Mississippi  a  wanton 
insult  to  apply  to  me  or  anybody  else,  but  I  consider  them  to 
be  most  extraordinary  words,  that  when  pleading  the  cause  of 
Jefferson  Davis  at  the  bar  of  the  American  Senate  to  be  pen 
sioned  on  its  roll  of  honor,  his  personal  representative,  his 
associate,  his  friend,  his  follower,  commends  him  to  the  Amer 
ican  people,  because  he  has  been  so  loyal  that  he  has  never 
counseled  insurrection  since  the  war  was  over. 

This  is  the  man  brought  in  here  who,  according  to  the  Sen 
ator  from  Mississippi,  is  to  go  down  to  history  the  peer  of 
Washington  and  Hampden,  fighting  in  the  same  cause,  enti 
tled  to  the  same  niche  in  history,  inspired  by  the  same  patri 
otic  motives,  to  be  admired  for  the  same  self-consecration. 

Let  me  tell  the  honorable  Senator  from  Mississippi  that  in 
all  the  years  that  I  have  served  in  Congress  I  have  never  vol 
untarily  brought  the  name  of  Jefferson  Davis  before  either 
branch,  but  I  tell  him  that  he  is  asking  humanity  to  forget  its 
instincts  and  patriotism  to  be  changed  to  crime,  before  he  will 
find  impartial  history  place  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis  anywhere  in 
the  roll  that  has  for  its  brightest  and  greatest  names,  George 
Washington  and  John  Hampden. 

After  Mr.  Lamar  had  replied  to  this  speech,  Mr.  Blaine 
resumed  as  follows:  Why,  Mr.  President,  does  the  honorable 
Senator  from  Mississippi  declare  that  the  policy  of  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States,  administered  as  it  has  been  through 
the  Republican  party,  has  been  one  of  intolerance  toward  those 
who  were  prominent  in  the  war — if  I  may  use  a  euphemism, 
and  leave  out  rebellion — which  is  offensive  to  his  ears?  Do 
I  understand  the  honorable  Senator  to  maintain  here  on  this 
floor  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  has  been  intol 
erant  ?  Certainly  the  Senator  does  not  mean  that. 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  ,  1 09 

After  a  colloquy  with  Mr.  Lamar,  Mr.  Elaine  resumed 
thus : 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  never  disfranchised  or 
put  under  political  disabilities  more  than  fourteen  thousand 
men  in  the  entire  South.  Out  of  two  millions  who  were  in  the 
war  it  never  disfranchised  over  fourteen  thousand  men.  There 
are  not  two  hundred  left  to-day  with  political  disabilities  upon 
them.  There  is  not  one  that  ever  respectfully  or  any  other 
way  petitioned  to  be  relieved  and  was  refused.  I  know  very 
well  what  the  honorable  Senator  from  Ohio  meant,  when  he 
said  that  Hon.  Jefferson  Davis  should  commend  himself, 
because  he  was  not  an  office-seeker  and  had  not  asked  to  be 
relieved  of  disabilities.  Why,  if  the  newspapers  are  to  be 
credited,  especially  those  in  the  Southern  Democratic  interest, 
Mr.  Davis  is  a  candidate  for  office;  he  is  pledged  to  sit  on  the 
other  side  of  this  Chamber  two  years  hence,  and  the  honor 
able  Senator  from  Ohio  will  in  the  next  Congress  with  his  elo 
quence — I  am  predicting  now — urge  that  these  disabilities  be 
removed  from  him.  I  predict  further  that  he  will  urge  it 
without  Jefferson  Davis  paying  the  respect  to  the  great  Gov 
ernment  against  which  he  rebelled,  simply  asking  in  respectful 
language  that  disabilities  be  taken  from  him.  He  has  never 
asked  it;  I  am  very  sure  that  another  great  leader  in  the 
South,  Mr.  Toombs,  of  Georgia,  has  boasted  that  he  would 
never  do  it,  and  in  the  House  of  Representatives  three  years 
ago,  when  the  general  amnesty  bill  was  pending  and  it  was 
proposed  that  the  amnesty  should  be  granted  merely  on  the 
condition  that  it  should  be  asked  for  by  each  person  desiring 
it,  that  it  was  resisted  to  the  bitter  end — this  great  Govern 
ment  was  to  go  to  them  and  ask  them  if  they  would  take  it. 
The  action  of  the  Democratic  House  of  Representatives — I 
am  speaking  of  the  past  now,  which  is  quite  within  parlia 
mentary  limits — the  action  of  the  Democratic  House  of  Rep 
resentatives  was  not  that  Jefferson  Davis  might  have  his  disa 
bilities  removed  upon  respectful  petition,  but  that  we  should 
go  to  him  and  petition  him  to  allow  us  to  remove  them. 

I  cannot  pass  by  this,  his  position  on  Southern  affairs — a 
7 


I  IO  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

position  for  which  he  has  so  often  and  so  bitterly  been  assailed, 
without  one  more  quotation  from  his  utterances.  In  the 
Senate,  December  11,  1878,  he  said: 

41  MR.  PRESIDENT — The  pending  resolution  was  offered  by 
me  with  a  two-fold  purpose  in  view.  First,  to  place  on  record 
in  a  definite  and  authentic  form  the  frauds  and  outrages  by 
which  some  recent  elections  were  carried  by  the  Democratic 
party  in  the  Southern  States ;  second,  to  find  if  there  be  any 
method  by  which  a  repetition  of  these  crimes  against  a  free 
ballot  may  be  prevented. 

"  The  newspaper  is  the  channel  through  which  the  people  of 
the  United  States  are  informed  of  current  events,  and  the  ac 
counts  given  in  the  press  represent  the  elections  in  some  of 
the  Southern  States  to  have  been  accompanied  by  violence,  in 
not  a  few  cases  reaching  the  destruction  of  life ;  to  have  been 
controlled  by  threats  that  awed  and  intimidated  a  large  class 
of  voters;  to  have  been  manipulated  by  fraud  of  the  most 
shameless  and  shameful  description.  Indeed,  in  South  Caro 
lina  there  seems  to  have  been  no  election  at  all  in  any  proper 
sense  of  the  term.  There  was,  instead,  a  series  of  skirmishes 
over  the  State,  in  which  the  polling-places  were  regarded  as 
forts  to  be  captured  by  one  party  and  held  against  the  other, 
and  where  this  could  not  be  done  with  convenience,  frauds  in 
the  count  and  tissue  ballot  devices  were  resorted  to  in  order  to 
effectually  destroy  the  voice  of  the  majority.  These,  in  brief, 
are  the  accounts  given  in  the  non-partisan  press  of  the  dis 
graceful  outrages  that  attended  the  recent  elections,  and  so  far 
as  I  have  seen,  these  statements  are  without  serious  contradic 
tion.  It  is  but  just  and  fair  to  all  parties,  however,  that  an 
impartial  investigation  of  the  facts  shall  be  made  by  a  com 
mittee  of  the  Senate,  proceeding  under  the  authority  of  law, 
and  representing  the  power  of  the  nation.  Hence  my  resolu 
tion. 

"  But  we  do  not  need  investigation  to  establish  certain  facts 
already  of  official  record.  We  know  that  one  hundred  and 
six  Representatives  in  Congress  were  recently  chosen  in  the 
States  formerly  slaveholding,  and  that  the  Democrats  elected 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  Ill 

one  hundred  and  one,  or  possibly  one  hundred  and  two,  and 
the  Republicans  four,  or  possibly  five.  We  know  that  thirty- 
five  of  these  Representatives  were  assigned  to  the  Southern 
States  by  reason  of  the  colored  population,  and  that  the  entire 
political  power  thus  founded  on  the  numbers  of  the  colored 
people  has  been  seized  and  appropriated  to  the  aggrandize 
ment  of  its  own  strength  by  the  Democratic  party  of  the 
South. 

"  The  issue  thus  raised  before  the  country,  Mr.  President,  is 
not  one  of  mere  sentiment  for  the  rights  of  the  negro — though 
far  distant  be  the  day  when  the  rights  qf  any  American  citizen, 
however  black  or  however  poor,  shall  form  the  mere  dust  of 
the  balance  in  any  controversy ;  nor  is  the  issue  one  that  in 
volves  the  waving  of  the  'bloody  shirt/  to  quote  the  elegant 
vernacular  of  Democratic  vituperation ;  nor  still  further  is  the 
issue  as  now  presented  only  a  question  of  the  equality  of  the 
black  voter  of  the  South  with  the  white  voter  of  the  South  ; 
the  issue,  Mr.  President,  has  taken  a  far  wider  range,  one  of 
portentous  magnitude,  and  that  is,  whether  the  white  voter  of 
the  North  shall  be  equal  to  the  white  voter  of  the  South  in 
shaping  the  policy  and  fixing  the  destiny  of  this  country  ;  or 
whether,  to  put  it  still  more  baldly,  the  white  man  who  fought 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Union  army  shall  have  as  weighty  and  in 
fluential  a  vote  in  the  Government  of  the  Republic  as  the 
white  man  who  fought  in  the  ranks  of  the  rebel  army.  The 
one  fought  to  uphold,  the  other  to  destroy,  the  Union  of  the 
States,  and  to-day  he  who  fought  to  destroy  is  a  far  more  im 
portant  factor  in  the  government  of  the  nation  than  he  who 
fought  to  uphold  it. 

"Let  me  illustrate  my  meaning  by  comparing  groups  of 
States  of  the  same  representative  strength  North  and  South. 
Take  South  Carolina,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana.  They  send 
seventeen  Representatives  to  Congress.  Their  aggregate 
population  is  1,035,000  whites  and  1,224,000  colored;  the 
colored  being  nearly  200,000  in  excess  of  the  whites.  Of  the 
seventeen  Representatives,  then,  it  is  evident  that  nine  were 
apportioned  to  these  States  by  reason  of  their  colored  popula 
tion,  and  only  eight  by  reason  of  their  white  population ;  and 


112  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

yet,  in  the  choice  of  the  entire  seventeen  Representatives,  thi 
colored  voters  had  no  more  voice  or  power  than  their  remot< 
kindred  on  the  shores  of  Senegambia,  or  on  the  Gold  Coast 
The  1,035,000  white  people  had  the  sole  and  absolute  choice 
of  the  entire  seventeen  Representatives.  In  contrast,  tak( 
two  States  in  the  North,  Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  with  seventeer 
Representatives.  They  have  a  white  population  of  2,247,000 
— considerably  more  than  double  the  entire  white  populatior 
of  the  three  Southern  States  I  have  named.  In  Iowa  anc 
Wisconsin,  therefore,  it  takes  1 32,000  white  population  to  senc 
a  Representative  to  Congress,  but  in  South  Carolina,  Missis 
sippi,  and  Louisiana  every  6o,OOO  white  people  send  a  Repre 
sentative.  In  other  words,  60,000  white  people  in  those 
Southern  States  have  precisely  the  same  political  power  ir 
the  government  of  the  country  that  132,000  white  people 
have  in  Iowa  and  Wisconsin. 

"  Take  another  group  of  seventeen  Representatives  from  the 
South  and  from  the  North.  Georgia  and  Alabama  have  a  white 
population  of  1, 1 58,000 and  a  colored  population  of  I,O2O,OOO 
They  send  seventeen  Representatives  to  Congress,  of  whon 
nine  were  apportioned  on  account  of  the  white  population 
and  eight  on  account  of  the  colored  population.  But  the  col 
ored  voters  are  not  able  to  choose  a  single  Representative,  the 
white  Democrats  choosing  the  whole  seventeen.  The  foui 
Northern  States,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Nebraska,  and  Cali 
fornia,  have  seventeen  Representatives,  based  on  a  white  pop 
ulation  of  2,250,000,  or  almost  double  the  white  population 
of  Georgia  and  Alabama,  so  that  in  these  relative  groups  of 
States  we  find  the  white  man  South  exercises  by  his  vote 
double  the  political  power  of  the  white  man  North. 

"  Let  us  carry  the  comparison  to  a  more  comprehensive 
generalization.  The  eleven  States  that  formed  the  Confeder 
ate  government  had  by  the  last  census  a  population  of  9,- 
500,000,  of  which  in  round  numbers  5,500,000  were  white  and 
4,000,000  colored.  On  this  aggregate  population  seventy- 
three  Representatives  in  Congress  were  apportioned  to  those 
States — forty-two  or  forty-three  of  which  were  by  reason  of 
the  white  population,  and  thirty  or  thirty-one  by  reason  of  the 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  113 

colored  population.  At  the  recent  election  the  white  Dem 
ocracy  of  the  South  seized  seventy  of  the  seventy-three  dis 
tricts,  and  thus  secured  a  Democratic  majority  in  the  next 
House  of  Representatives.  Thus  it  appears  that  throughout 
the  States  that  formed  the  late  Confederate  government 
75,000  whites — the  very  people  that  rebelled  against  the 
Union — are  enabled  to  elect  a  Representative  in  Congress, 
while  in  the  loyal  States  it  requires  132,000  of  the  white  peo 
ple  that  fought  for  the  Union  to  elect  a  Representative.  In 
levying  every  tax,  therefore,  in  making  every  appropriation  of 
money,  in  fixing  every  line  of  public  policy,  in  decreeing  what 
shall  be  the  fate  and  fortune  of  the  Republic,  the  Confederate 
soldier  South  is  enabled  to  cast  a  vote  that  is  twice  as  power 
ful  and  twice  as  influential  as  the  vote  of  the  Union  soldier 
North. 

"  But  the  white  men  of  the  South  did  not  acquire,  and  do 
not  hold  this  superior  power  by  reason  of  law  or  justice,  but 
in  disregard  and  defiance  of  both.  The  Fourteenth  Amend 
ment  of  the  Constitution  was  expected  to  be,  and  was  designed 
to  be,  a  preventive  and  corrective  of  all  such  possible  abuses. 
The  reading  of  the  clause  applicable  to  the  case  is  instructive 
and  suggestive.  Hear  it : 

" '  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several 
States  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the 
whole  number  of  persons  in  each  State,  excluding  Indians  not 
taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote  at  any  election  for  the 
choice  of  electors  for  President  and  Vice-Presiclent  of  the 
United  States,  Representatives  in  Congress,  the  executive  and 
judicial  officers  of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  Legislature 
thereof,  is  denied  to  any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State, 
being  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  or  in  any  way  abridged,  except  for  participation  in 
rebellion,  or  other  crime,  the  basis  of  representation  therein 
shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the  number  of  such 
male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole  number  of  male  citizens 
twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such  State.' 

"  The  patent,  undeniable  intent  of  this  provision  was  that 
if  any  class  of  voters  were  denied  or  in  any  way  abridged  in 


114  HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

their  right  of  suffrage,  then  the  class  so  denied  or  abridged 
should  not  be  counted  in  the  basis  of  representation ;  or,  in 
other  words,  that  no  State  or  States  should  gain  a  large  in 
crease  of  representation  in  Congress  by  reason  of  counting 
any  class  of  population  not  permitted  to  take  part  in  electing 
such  Representatives.  But  the  construction  given  to  this  pro 
vision  is  that  before  any  forfeiture  of  representation  can  be 
enforced,  the  denial  or  abridgment  of  suffrage  must  be  the 
result  of  a  law  specifically  enacted  by  the  State.  Under  this 
construction  every  negro  voter  may  have  his  suffrage  abso 
lutely  denied  or  fatally  abridged  by  the  violence,  actual  or 
threatened,  ofirresponsible  mobs,  or  by  frauds  and  deceptions 
of  State  officers,  from  the  governor  down  to  the  last  election 
clerk;  and  then,  unless  some  State  law  can  be  shown  that 
authorizes  the  denial  or  abridgment,  the  State  escapes  all 
penalty  or  peril  of  reduced  representation.  This  construction 
may  be  upheld  by  the  courts  ruling  on  the  letter  of  the  law, 
1  which  killeth,'  but  the  spirit  of  justice  cries  aloud  against 
the  evasive  and  atrocious  conclusion  that  deals  out  oppression 
to  the  innocent  and  shields  the  guilty  from  the  legitimate  con 
sequences  of  willful  transgression. 

"  The  colored  citizen  is  thus  most  unhappily  situated ;  his 
right  of  suffrage  is  but  a  hollow  mockery ;  it  holds  to  his  ear 
the  word  of  promise  but  breaks  it  always  to  his  hope,  and  he 
ends  only  in  being  made  the  unwilling  instrument  of  increas 
ing  the  political  strength  of  that  party  from  which  he  received 
ever-tightening  fetters  when  he  was  a  slave  and  contemptuous 
refusal  of  civil  rights  since  he  was  made  free.  He  resembles, 
indeed,  those  unhappy  captives  in  the  East,  who,  deprived  of 
their  birthright,  are  compelled  to  yield  their  strength  to  the 
upbuilding  of  the  monarch  from  whose  tyrannies  they  have 
most  to  fear,  and  to  fight  against  the  power  from  which  alone 
deliverance  might  be  expected.  The  franchise  intended  for 
the  shield  and  defence  of  the  negro  has  been  turned  against 
him  and  against  his  friends,  and  has  vastly  increased  the  power 
of  those  from  whom  he  has  nothing  to  hope  and  everything 
to  dread. 

"  The  political  power  thus  appropriated  by  Southern  Demo- 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  115 

crats  by  reason  of  the  negro  population  amounts  to  thirty-five 
Representatives  in  Congress.  It  is  massed  almost  solidly,  and 
offsets  the  great  State  of  New  York  ;  or  Pennsylvania  and 
New  Jersey  together ;  or  the  whole  of  New  England  ;  or  Ohio 
and  Indiana  united  ;  or  the  combined  strength  of  Illinois,  Min 
nesota,  Kansas,  California.  Nevada,  Nebraska,  Colorado  and 
Oregon.  The  seizure  of  this  power  is  wanton  usurpation  ;  it 
is  flagrant  outrage  ;  it  is  violent  perversion  of  the  whole  theory 
of  republican  government.  It  inures  solely  to  the  present 
advantage,  and  yet,  I  believe,  to  the  permanent  dishonor  of 
the  Democratic  party.  It  is  by  reason  of  this  trampling  down 
of  human  rights,  this  ruthless  seizure  of  unlawful  power,  that 
the  Democratic  party  holds  the  popular  branch  of  Congress 
to-day,  and  will  in  less  than  ninety  days  have  control  of  this 
body  also,  thus  grasping  the  entire  legislative  department  of 
the  government  through  the  unlawful  capture  of  the  Southern 
States.  If  the  proscribed  vote  of  the  South  were  cast  as  its 
lawful  owners  desire,  the  Democratic  party  could  not  gain 
power.  Nay,  if  it  were  not  counted  on  the  other  side  against 
the  instincts  and  the  interests,  against  the  principles  and 
prejudices  of  its  lawful  owners,  Democratic  success  would  be 
hopeless.  It  is  not  enough,  then,  for  modern  Democratic 
tactics  that  the  negro  vote  shall  be  silenced ;  the  demand  goes 
further,  and  insists  that  it  shall  be  counted  on  their  side,  that 
all  the  Representatives  in  Congress  and  all  the  Presidential 
electors  apportioned  by  reason  of  the  negro  vote  shall  be  so 
cast  and  so  governed  as  to  insure  Democratic  success — regard 
less  of  justice,  in  defiance  of  law. 

"And  this  injustice  is  wholly  unprovoked.  I  doubt  if  it  be  in 
the  power  of  the  most  searching  investigation  to  show,  that  in 
any  Southern  State,  during  the  period  of  Republican  control, 
any  legal  voter  was  ever  debarred  from  the  freest  exercise  of  his 
suffrage.  Even  the  revenges,  which  would  have  leaped  into 
life  with  many  who  despised  the  negro,  were  buried  out  of 
sight  with  a  magnanimity  which  the  '  superior  race '  fail  to 
follow  and  seem  reluctant  to  recognize.  I  know  it  is  said  in 
retort  of  such  charges  against  the  Southern  elections,  as  I  am 
now  reviewing,  that  unfairness  of  equal  gravity  prevails  in 


I  1 6  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAfNE. 

Northern  elections.  I  hear  it  in  many  quarters  and  read 
it  in  the  papers  that  in  the  late  exciting  election  in  Massa 
chusetts  intimidation  and  bull-dozing,  if  not  so  rough  and 
rancorous  as  in  the  South,  were  yet  as  widespread  and 

•ive. 

"  I  have  read,  and  yet  I  refuse  to  believe,  that  the  distin 
guished  gentleman  who  made  an  energetic,  but  unsuccessful, 
canvass  for  the  Governorship  of  that  State,  has  indorsed  and 
approved  these  charges,  and  I  have  accordingly  made  my 

lution  broad  enough  to  include  their  thorough  investiga 
tion.  I  am  not  demanding  fair  elections  in  the  South  without 

tnding  fair  elections  in  the  North  also.     But  venturing  to 

J<  for  the  New  England  States,  of  whose  laws  and  customs 
I  know  something,  I  dare  assert  that  in  the  late  election  in 
Massachusetts,  or  any  of  her  neighboring  commonwealths,  it 
will  be  impossible  to  find  even  one  case  where  a  voter  was 
driven  from  the  polls,  where  a  voter  did  not  have  the  fullest, 
fairest,  freest  opportunity  to  cast  the  ballot  of  his  choice, 
have  it  honestly  and  faithfully  counted  in  the  returns.  Suf 
frage  on  this  continent  was  first  made  universal  in  New  Kng- 
land,  and  in  the  administration  of  their  affairs  her 
have  found  no  other  appeal  necessary  than  that  which  is 
addressed  to  their  honesty  of  conviction  and  to  their  in- 

;ent  self-interest.  If  there  be  anything  different  to 
disclose,  I  pray  you  show  it  to  us,  that  we  may  amend  our 
ways. 

"  Hut  whenever  a  feeble  protest  is  made  against  such  injustice, 
as  I  have  described  in  the  South,  the  response  we  get  comes 
to  us  in  the  form  of  a  taunt,  '  What  are  you  going  to  do 

Jt  it?  '  and  '  How  do  you   propose  to  help  yourselves?  ' 

is  the  stereotyped  answer  of  defiance  which  intrenched 

Wrong   always   gives   to    inquiring  Justice ;  and  those  who 

;me  it  to  be  conclusive  do  not  know  the  temper  of  the 

rican  people.     For,  let  me  assure  you,  that  against  the 

•  ted  outrage  upon  the  right  of  representation,  !;»• 
triumphant  in  the  South,  there  will   be  arrayed  many  ph 

/blic  opinion  in  the  North  not  often  hitherto  in  harmony, 
who  have  cared  little,  and  affected  to  care  less,  for  the 


MON     |AMf.    '•     IM  \r  r  i  i 

rifhtl  "i  wrongs  of  the  negro,  suddenly  fine!  that  vast  mone« 
i  "  .Hi-l  commtrcii]  interests,  great  ipu'stions  of  revenue,  rtd^ 
i"  i.  u.  MI*  of  tariff,  vast  investments  in  nianuffteturea,  In  rail- 
»  '\\and  In  minim,  are  under  the  control  of  A  Democratic 
(  »  "  -A,  whose  majority  waiobtftintd  by  dtpfiving  the  negro 

i  in-  M^hisi  under  a  eomnum  c!onMituti«m  fui«l  I'otmnon  l.twa, 
M.  n  \\lio  h;wr  c?xprc**flfM  <lngun<  wilh  flu1  '  waving  of  bloody 

lu.i     .utd  hrtvc  bc*«?n  c)ftc?n«lc?d  with  lf*ll<  ubonl  tu'gro  rc|imlifyf 

•  i.  i..  .inning  to  jwrwivc?  tluu  th«?  pnuling  r|iiefltion  »>f  lo-*lrty 
i-  i.ii-     tnoro  f)rr««iitigly  fo  the*  ecpuility  of  white*  men  utulrr 
HH    <,.,vc*nmient,  nnd  tlmt  however  earcle**  they  mrty  be 
ftboul  i  he  Hgh<«*  or  the  wrongs  of  the  negro,  they  are  very 
i  .I|«HI««  rtnd  tertfteiou4  rtbont  the  rights  ol  their  own  rrtce, 

•  H.I    the    dignity    of   their    own    fli  eaidea    rttul    their  own 
i  indredi  « 

i  Uncjw  something  of  public  opinion  in  the  North,  I 
l  M..\V  A  gr»'rtt  flettl  rtboi.it  the  view«,  wi«»hc«4,  rttul  ptirponen  «»f 
tii-  Kcpubhran  party  c>f  the  Nation,  Within  that  entire  gr^rtt 

"n..iii»»M  there  fa  not  one  ttutti,  whose  opinion  i^  entitled 
<  lie  quoted,  that  doe<4  ttot  desire  peace  rtnd  hrtrmony  •""' 
in.  it.  i  lnp,  ..ii.i  ',{  patriotii!  rtnd  frrtternrtl  union  b^tweert  «ii- 
N«iiih  .iiul  the  South,  'Ihi«4  wUh  IM  apontaneoua,  inntind' 

•    d  throughotit  the  Northern  btrtte*;  rtnd  yet,  am*  •"•• 
ffltn  "i  «:hrtiaeter  rtnd  «ense,  there  is  surely  no  need  of  .•« 
i'  "i|,ini{/  to  deeeive  rHirselves  rts  to  the  pred*e  truth      I  ••  i 
i  "M.  .  iiii'H  pertijfrtbU?,    (Juan  will  not  remove  rt  grievanee,  -""i 
"  "  -I'  :;uise  of  State  rights  will  rlose  the  eyes  of  our  p«  - 

N«u- 


iii-    MeceMity  c)f  correcting  rt  great  national  wrong, 
i"  -«ii«!  the  South  make  the-  fatal  mistake  of  'concluding  H...I 
inj  ustii  <*  to  the  negro  i«i  not  rtlso  injustice  to  the  white  m-"» 
HOI    ii'-uld  it  ever  be  fr>rgotten  that  for  the  wrongs  <>\  i...iii  .• 
i.  in.  ,i\  will  assuredly  be  found,    The  war,  with  all  ii- 

"  '  'i"  •  ^,  was  fought  in  vain,  miles*  f»|u;d  rights  for  all  -  \.> 
I-    •  -i.ii.ii  I...J  in  all  the  States  of  lite  Union  ;  and  now  -.  ... 
1    ivhli  It  are  those  of  fricndshit),  however  difTereuii    > 
i         •  j»t«  -I,  I  ttill  the  men  of  the  South  here  on  tin-  n     . 
""i  beyond  <i.n  chamber,  tlmt  even  if  they  conl.l  Itrip  thi 
"     "   ol  in    (  .u  iiiiitional  tighti,  they  ran  never  perm..  n  > 


Il8  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

maintain  the  inequality  of  white  men  in  this  Nation — they  can 
never  make  a  white  man's  vote  in  the  South  doubly  as  power 
ful  in  the  administration  of  the  Government  as  a  white  man's 
vote  in  the  North. 

"  In  a  memorable  debate  in  the  House  of  Commons,  Mr. 
Macaulay  reminded  Daniel  O'Connell,  when  he  was  moving 
for  repeal,  that  the  English  Whigs  had  endured  calumny, 
abuse,  popular  fury,  loss  of  position,  exclusion  from  Parlia 
ment,  rather  than  the  great  Agitator  himself  should  be  less 
than  a  British  subject ;  and  Mr.  Macaulay  warned  him  that 
they  would  never  suffer  him  to  be  more.  Let  me  now  remind 
you,  that  the  Government,  under  whose  protecting  flag  we  sit 
to-day,  sacrificed  myriads  of  lives  and  expended  thousands  of 
millions  of  treasure  that  our  countrymen  of  the  South  should 
remain  citizens  of  the  United  States,  having  equal  personal 
rights  and  equal  political  privileges  with  all  other  citizens. 
And  I  venture,  now  and  here,  to  warn  the  men  of  the  South, 
in  the  exact  words  of  Macaulay,  that  we  will  never  suffer 
them  to  be  more  !" 

We  will  not  pursue  here  Mr.  Elaine's  career  in  the  Senate 
any  further  than  to  say  it  was  one  of  both  profit  and  honor  to 
the  country.  To  protray  his  career  in  the  Senate  actually 
would  involve  too  close  a  reference  to  questions  which  must 
be  touched  elsewhere  in  this  Volume,  but  in  his  period  of  ser 
vice  those  who  knew  him  well  observed  a  constant  intel 
lectual  growth.  He  was  fuller  and  stronger  and  abler  jn  de 
bate  the  last  day  of  the  service  than  on  the  first.  He  left  the 
Senate'  one  of  the  most  forcible  and  fearless  antagonists  that 
could  there  be  encountered.  He  was  eloquent,  aggressive, 
and  yet  careful,  fearless  without  showing  bravado.  What  he 
knew,  he  knew  with  precision.  The  powers  he  possessed  were 
always  at  his  command,  and  he  never  declined  a  challenge 
to  enter  the  lists.  As  he  himself  said  in  his  eulogy  upon  Mr. 
Chandler :  "  Here  and  now,"  was  his  motto,  and  his  life  out- 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  119 

side,  indeed,  seemed  guided  by  that  spirit  of  bravery  which 
the  greatest  of  American  Senators  exhibited  in  the  only 
boast  he  ever  made  when  he  quoted  to  Mr.  Calhoun  the 
classical 

"  Concurritur ;  horae 
Momento  cita  mors  venit,  aut  victoria  laeta. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

A  CABINET  OFFICER — THE  PREMIER  OF  THE  NEW  ADMINISTRATION — THE 
GREATEST  INFLUENCE — ELAINE'S  FOREIGN  POLICY — fa  is  ORATION  ON  GAR- 
FIELD,  AND  RESIGNATION. 

r  I  ""HE  election  of  1880  was  hardly  an  accomplished  fact 
before  the  world  began  wondering  who  was  to  be  in 
the  Cabinet.  With  unanimity  the  popular  voice  named  Mr. 
Elaine  for  the  Secretaryship  of  State.  Mr.  Blaine  when  it  was 
offered  to  him  shortly  after  the  election  did  not  at  once  accept 
but  consulted  his  friends  as  to  his  course.  They  pointed  out 
to  him  that  as  his  career  had  been  so  largely  one  of  legislative 
halls  many  of  the  people  believed  that  he  had  no  head  for 
much  else.  The  opportunity  to  show  another  side  of  his  bril 
liant  character  was  presented.  He  was  urged  to  accept  the 
position,  and  he  finally  did  in  a  letter  of  acceptance  as  noble 
as  it  was  patriotic  : 

"  In  our  new  relation  I  shall  give  all  that  I  am  and  all  that 
I  can  hope  to  be,  freely  and  joyfully,  to  your  service.  You 
need  no  pledge  of  my  loyalty  in  heart  and  in  act.  I  should 
be  false  to  myself  did  I  not  prove  true  both  to  the  great  trust 
you  confide  to  me  and  to  your  own  personal  and  political 
fortunes  in  the  present  and  in  the  future.  Your  administra 
tion  must  be  made  brilliantly  successful  and  strong  in  the 
confidence  and  pride  of  the  people,  not  at  all  directing  its 
energies  for  re-election,  and  yet  compelling  that  result  by  the 
logic  of  events  and  by  the  impenous  necessities  of  the  situa 
tion. 

(120) 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  121 

"  To  that  most  desirable  consummation  I  feel  that,  next  to 
yourself,  I  can  possibly  contribute  as  much  influence  as  any 
other  one  man.  I  say  this  not  from  egotism  or  vainglory,  but 
merely  as  a  deduction  from  a  plain  analysis  of  the  political 
forces  which  have  been  at  work  in  tlje  country  for  five  years 
past  and  which  have  been  significantly  shown  in  two  great 
national  conventions.  I  accept  it  as  one  of  the  happiest  cir 
cumstances  connected  with  this  affair  that  in  allying  my 
political  fortunes  with  yours — or  rather  for  the  time  merging 
mine  in  yours — my  heart  goes  with  my  head,  and  that  I  carry 
to  you  not  only  political  support,  but  personal  and  devoted 
friendship.  I  can  but  regard  it  as  somewhat  remarkable  that 
two  men  of  the  same  age,  entering  Congress  at  the  same  time, 
influenced  by  the  same  aims  and  cherishing  the  same  ambi 
tions,  should  never,  for  a  single  moment  in  eighteen  years  of 
close  intimacy,  have  had  a  misunderstanding  or  a  coolness, 
and  that  our  friendship  has  steadily  grown  with  our  growth 
and  strengthened  with  our  strength." 

Before  the  inauguration  of  President  Garfield  Senator  Elaine, 
laying  down  the  burdens  of  the  forum,  accepted  those  of  another 
sphere.  At  the  head  of  the  State  Department  he  at  once  dis 
tinguished  himself  by  the  vigor  and  earnestness  with  which 
he  upheld  American  interests.  He  believed  essentially — and 
where  is  the  true  American  who  believes  differently  ? — that  the 
United  States  was  great  enough  and  strong  enough  to  stay 
out  over  night.  That  his  policy  in  this  respect  was  wise  and 
beneficial  to  the  best  interests  of  the  Republic  I  make  no 
doubt.  And  I  commend  to  the  reader's  careful  attention  the 
following  exposition  of  "  Mr.  Elaine's  foreign  policy  "  with  the 
direct  challenge  that  on  reading  it  over  there  cannot  be  a 
plausible  objection  raised  to  it. 

The  statement  is  from  the  columns  of  the  Chicago  Tribune, 
to  which  Mr.  Elaine  contributed  it: 

"AUGUSTA,  ME.,  September  i,   1882. — The  foreign  policy 


122  HON.   JAMES   G.    BLAINE. 

of  President  Garfield's  administration  had  two  principal  objects 
in  view :  First,  to  bring  about  peace  and  prevent  future  wars 
in  North  and  South  America ;  second,  to  cultivate  such 
friendly  commercial  relations  with  all  American  countries  as 
would  lead  to  a  large, increase  in  the  export  trade  of  the 
United  States,  by  supplying  those  fabrics  in  which  we  are 
abundantly  able  to  compete  with  the  manufacturing  nations 
of  Europe. 

"  To  attain  the  second  object  the  first  must  be  accom 
plished.  It  would  be  idle  to  attempt  the  development  and 
enlargement  of  our  trade  with  the  countries  of  North  and 
South  America  if  that  trade  were  liable  at  any  unforeseen  mo 
ment  to  be  violently  interrupted  by  such  wars  as  that  which 
for  three  years  has  engrossed  and  almost  ingulfed  Chili,  Peru 
and  Bolivia;  as  that  which  was  barely  averted  by  the  friendly 
offices  of  the  United  States  between  Chili  and  the  Argentine 
Republic;  as  that  which  has  been  postponed  by  the  same  good 
offices,  but  not  decisively  abandoned,  between  Mexico  and 
Guatemala ;  as  that  which  is  threatened  between  Brazil  and 
Uruguay ;  as  that  which  is  even  now  foreshadowed  between 
Brazil  and  the  Argentine  States.  Peace  is  essential  to  com 
merce,  is  the  very  life  of  honest  trade,  is  the  solid  basis  of  in 
ternational  prosperity ;  and  yet  there  is  no  part  of  the  world 
where  a  resort  to  arms  is  so  prompt  as  in  the  Spanish-Ameri 
can  Republics.  Those  Republics  have  grown  out  of  the  old 
colonial  divisions,  formed  from  capricious  grants  to  favorites 
by  royal  charter,  and  their  boundaries  are  in  many  cases  not 
clearly  defined,  and  consequently  afford  the  basis  of  continual 
disputes,  breaking  forth  too  often  in  open  war.  To  induce  the 
Spanish-American  States  to  adopt  some  peaceful  mode  of 
adjusting  their  frequently  recurring  contentions  was  regarded 
by  the  late  President  as  one  of  the  most  honorable  and  useful 
ends  to  which  the  diplomacy  of  the  United  States  could  con 
tribute — useful  especially  to  those  States  by  securing  perma 
nent  peace  within  all  their  borders,  and  useful  to  our  own 
country  by  affording  a  coveted  opportunity  for  extending  its 
commerce  and  securing  enlarged  fields  for  our  products  and 
manufactures. 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  123 

"  Instead  of  friendly  intervention  here  and  there,  patching 
up  a  treaty  between  two  countries  to-day,  securing  a  truce 
between  two  others  to-morrow,  it  was  apparent  to  the  Presi 
dent  that  a  more  comprehensive  plan  should  be  adopted  if 
war  was  to  cease  in  the  western  hemisphere.  It  was  evident 
that  certain  European  powers  had  in  the  past  been  interested 
in  promoting  strife  between  the  Spanish-American  countries, 
and  might  be  so  interested  in  the  future,  while  the  interest  of 
the  United  States  was  wholly  and  always  on  the  side  of  peace 
with  all  our  American  neighbors,  and  peace  between  them  all. 

i(  It  was  therefore  the  President's  belief  that  mere  incidental 
and  partial  adjustments  failed  to  attain  the  desired  end,  and 
that  a  common  agreement  of  peace,  permanent  in  its  character 
and  continental  in  its  extent,  should,  if  possible,  be  secured. 
To  effect  this  end  it  had  been  resolved,  before  the  fatal  shot 
of  July  2,  to  invite  all  the  independent  governments  of  North 
and  South  America  to  meet  in  a  peace  congress  at  Washing 
ton.  The  date  to  be  assigned  was  the  I5th  of  March,  1882, 
and  the  invitations  would  have  been  issued  directly  after  the 
New  England  tour,  which  the  President  was  not  permitted  to 
make.  Nearly  six  months  later,  November  22,  President 
Garfield's  successor  issued  the  invitations  for  the  peace  con 
gress  in  the  same  spirit  and  scope  and  with  the  same  limita 
tions  and  restrictions  that  had  been  originally  designed. 

"  As  soon  as  the  project  was  understood  in  South  America 
it  received  a  most  cordial  approval,  and  some  of  the  countries, 
not  following  the  leisurely  routine  of  diplomatic  correspond 
ence,  made  haste  to  accept  the  invitation.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  within  a  brief  period  all  the  nations  invited  would 
have  formally  signified  their  readiness  to  attend  the  congress ; 
but  in  six  weeks  after  the  invitations  had  gone  to  the  several 
countries  President  Arthur  caused  them  to  be  recalled,  or  at 
least  suspended.  The  subject  was  afterward  referred  to  Con 
gress  in  a  special  message,  in  which  the  President  ably  vindi 
cated  his  constitutional  right  to  assemble  the  peace  congress, 
but  expressed  a  desire  that  the  legislative  department  of  the 
government  should  give  an  opinion  upon  the  expediency  of 
the  step  before  the  congress  should  be  allowed  to  convene. 


124  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

Meanwhile  the  nations  that  received  the  invitations  were  in  an 
embarrassing  situation  ;  for  after  they  were  asked  by  the  Pres 
ident  to  come  they  found  that  the  matter  had  been  reconsid 
ered  and  referred  to  another  department  of  the  government. 
This  change  was  universally  accepted  as  a  practical  though 
indirect  abandonment  of  the  project,  for  it  was  not  from  the 
first  probable  that  Congress  would  take  any  action  whatever 
upon  the  subject.  The  good-will  and  welcome  of  the  invita 
tion  would  be  destroyed  by  a  long  debate  in  the  Senate  and 
House,  in  which  the  question  would  necessarily  become  inter 
mixed  with  personal  and  party  politics,  and  the  project  would 
be  ultimately  wrecked  from  the  same  cause  and  by  the  same 
process  that  destroyed  the  usefulness  of  the  Panama  Congress, 
more  than  fifty  years  ago,  when  Mr.  Clay  was  Secretary  of 
State.  The  time  for  congressional  action  would  have  been 
after  the  peace  conference  had  closed  its  labors.  The  confer 
ence  could  not  agree  upon  anything  that  would  be  binding 
upon  the  United  States,  unless  assented  to  as  a  treaty  by  the 
Senate,  or  enacted  into  law  by  both  branches.  The  assembling 
of  the  peace  conference,  as  President  Arthur  so  well  demon 
strated,  was  not  in  derogation  of  any  right  or  prerogative  of 
the  Senate  or  House.  The  money  necessary  for  the  expenses 
of  the  conference — which  would  not  have  exceeded  $10,000 — 
could  not,  with  reason  or  propriety,  have  been  refused  by  Con 
gress.  If  it  had  been  refused,  patriotism  and  philanthropy 
would  promptly  have  supplied  it. 

"  The  Spanish-American  States  are  in  special  need  of  the 
help  which  the  peace  congress  would  afford  them.  They 
require  external  pressure  to  keep  them  from  war.  When  at 
war  they  require  external  pressure  to  bring  them  to  peace. 
Their  outbreaks  are  not  only  frequent,  but  are  sanguinary  and 
sometimes  cruel.  The  inhabitants  of  these  countries  are  a 
brave  people,  belonging  to  a  race  that  has  always  been  brave, 
descended  of  men  that  have  always  been  proud.  They  are  of 
hot  temper,  quick  to  take  affront,  ready  to  revenge  a  wrong, 
whether  real  or  fancied.  They  are  at  the  same  time  generous 
and  chivalrous,  and  though  tending  for  years  past  to  estrange 
ment  and  alienation  from  us,  they  would  promptly  respond  to 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE,  12$ 

any  advance  made  by  the  great  republic  of  the  north,  as  they 
have  for  two  generations  termed  our  government.  The  moral 
influence  upon  the  Spanish-American  people  of  such  an  inter 
national  assembly  as  the  peace  congress,  called  by  the  invita 
tion  and  meeting  under  the  auspices  of  the  United  States, 
would  have  proved  beneficent  and  far-reaching.  It  would 
have  raised  the  standard  of  their  civilization.  It  would  have 
turned  their  attention  to  the  things  of  peace ;  and  the  conti 
nent,  whose  undeveloped  wealth  amazed  Humboldt,  might 
have  had  a  new  life  given  to  it,  a  new  and  splendid  career 
opened  to  its  inhabitants. 

44  Such  friendly  intervention  as  the  proposed  peace  congress, 
and  the  attempt  to  restore  peace  between  Chili  and  Peru,  fall 
within  the  line  of  both  duty  and  interest  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States.  Nations,  like  individuals,  often  require  aid  of 
a  common  friend  to  restore  relations  of  amity.  Peru  and  Chili 
are  in  deplorable  need  of  a  wise  and  powerful  mediator. 
Though  exhausted  by  war,  they  are  unable  to  make  peace, 
and  unless  they  shall  be  aided  by  the  intervention  of  a  friend, 
political  anarchy  and  social  disorder  will  come  to  the  con 
quered,  and  evils  scarcely  less  serious  to  the  conqueror.  Our 
own  government  cannot  take  the  ground  that  it  will  not  offer 
friendly  intervention  to  settle  troubles  between  American 
countries,  unless  at  the  same  time  it  freely  concedes  to  Euro 
pean  governments  the  right  of  such  intervention,  and  thus 
consents  to  a  practical  destruction  of  the  Monroe  doctrine  and 
an  unlimited  increase  of  European  and  monarchial  influence 
on  this  continent.  The  late  special  envoy  to  Peru  and  Chili, 
Mr.  Trescot,  gives  it  as  his  deliberate  and  published  conclusion 
that  if  the  instructions  under  which  he  set  out  upon  his  mis 
sion  had  not  been  revoked,  peace  between  those  angry  bellig 
erents  would  have  been  established  as  the  result  of  his  labors 
— necessarily  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  United  States.  If 
our  government  does  not  resume  its  efforts  to  secure  peace  in 
South  America,  some  European  government  will  be  forced  to 
perform  that  friendly  office.  The  United  States  cannot  play 
between  nations  the  part  of  dog  in  the  manger.  We  must 
perform  the  duty  of  humane  intervention  ourselves  or  give  way 
8 


126  HON.    JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

to  foreign  governments  that  are  willing  to  accept  the  responsi 
bility  of  the  great  trust  and  secure  the  enhanced  influence  and 
numberless  advantages  resulting  from  such  a  philanthropic 
and  beneficent  course. 

"A  most  significant  and  important  result  would  have  fol 
lowed  the  assembling  of  the  peace  congress.  A  friendship 
and  an  intimacy  would  have  been  established  between  the 
States  of  North  and  South  America  which  would  have  de 
manded  arfd  enforced  a  closer  commercial  connection.  A 
movement  in  the  near  future,  as  the  legitimate  outgrowth  of 
assured  peace,  would,  in  all  probability,  have  been  a  great  com 
mercial  conference  at  the  City  of  Mexico  or  Rio  Janeiro,  whose 
deliberations  would  be  directed  to  a  bettor  system  of  trade  on 
the  two  continents.  To  such  a  conference  the  dominion  of 
Canada  could  properly  be  asked  to  send  representatives,  as 
that  government  is  allowed  by  Great  Britain  a  very  large 
liberty  in  regulating  its  commercial  relations.  In  the  peace 
congress,  to  be  composed  of  independent  governments,  the 
dominion  could  not  have  taken  any  part,  and  was  conse 
quently  not  invited.  From  this  trade  conference  of  the  two 
continents  the  United  States  could  hardly  have  failed  to  gain 
great  advantages.  At  present  the  commercial  relations  of 
this  country  with  the  Spanish-American  countries,  both  con 
tinental  and  insular,  are  unsatisfactory  and  unprofitable — 
indeed,  those  relations  are  absolutely  oppressive  to  the  finan 
cial  interests  of  the  government  and  people  of  the  United 
States.  In  our  current  exchanges  it  requires  about  $120,000,- 
ooo  to  pay  the  balance  which  Spanish-America  brings  against 
us  every  year.  This  amount  is  50  per  cent,  more  than  the 
average  annual  product  of  the  gold  and  silver  mines  of  the 
United  States  during  the  last  five  years.  This  vast  sum  does 
not,  of  course,  go  to  Spanish-America  in  coin,  but  it  goes 
across  the  ocean  in  coin  or  its  equivalent  to  pay  European 
countries  for  manufactured  articles  which  they  furnish  to 
Spanish-America,  a  large  proportion  of  which  should  be  fur 
nished  by  the  manufacturers  of  the  United  States. 

"At  this  point  of  the  argument  the  free  trader  appears  and 
declares  that  our  protective  tariff"  destroys  our  power  of  com- 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  I2/ 

petition  with  European  countries,  and  that  if  we  will  abolish 
protection  we  shall  soon  have  South  American  trade.  The 
answer  is  not  sufficient,  for  to-day  there  are  many  articles  which 
we  can  send  to  South  America  and  sell  as  cheaply  as  European 
manufacturers  can  furnish  them.  It  is  idle,  of  course,  to  make 
this  statement  to  the  genuine  apostle  of  free  trade  and  the  im 
placable  enemy  of  protection,  for  the  great  postulate  of  his 
argument,  the  foundation  of  his  creed,  is  that  nothing  can  be 
made  as  cheaply  in  America  as  in  Europe.  Nevertheless,  facts 
are  stubborn,  and  the  hard  figures  of  arithmetic  cannot  be  sat 
isfactorily  answered  by  airy  figures  of  speech.  The  truth  re 
mains  that  the  coarser  descriptions  of  cottons  and  cotton  prints, 
boots  and  shoes,  ordinary  household  furniture,  harness  for 
draft  animals,  agricultural  implements  of  all  kinds,  doors, 
sashes  and  blinds,  locks,  bolts  and  hinges,  silverware,  plated 
ware,  woodenware,  ordinary  paper  an4  paper-hangings,  com 
mon  vehicles,  ordinary  window-glass  and  glassware,  rubber 
goods,  coal  oils,  lard  oils,  kerosenes,  white  lead,  lead  pipe,  and 
articles  in  which  lead  is  a  chief  component,  can  be  and 
are  produced  as  cheaply  in  the  United  States  as  in  any  other 
part  of  the  world.  The  list  of  such  articles  might  be  length 
ened  by  the  addition  of  those  classed  as  "notions,"  but  enough 
only  are  given  to  show  that  this  country  would,  with  proper 
commercial  arrangements,  export  much  more  largely  than  it 
now  does  to  Spanish  America. 

"  In  the  trade  relations  of  the  world  it  does  not  follow  that 
mere  ability  to  produce  as  cheaply  as  another  nation  insures 
a  division  of  an  established  market,  or,  indeed,  any  participa 
tion  in  it.  France  manufactures  many  articles  as  cheaply  as 
England,  some  articles  at  even  less  cost.  Portugal  lies  nearer 
to  France  than  to  England,  and  the  expense  of  transporting 
the  French  fabric  to  the  Portuguese  market  is  therefore  less 
than  the  transportation  of  English  fabrics,  and  yet  Great  Britain 
has  almost  a  monopoly  in  the  trade  of  Portugal.  The  same 
condition  applies,  though  in  a  less  degree,  in  the  trade  of 
Turkey,  Syria,  and  Egypt,  which  England  holds  to  a  much 
greater  extent  than  any  of  the  other  European  nations  that 
are  able  to  produce  the  .same  fabric  as  cheaply.  If  it  be  said 


128  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

in  answer  that  England  has  special  trade  relations  by  treaty 
with  Portugal  and  special  obligations  binding  the  other  coun 
tries,  the  ready  answer  is  that  she  has  no  more  favorable  posi 
tion  with  regard  to  those  countries  than  can  be  readily  and 
easily  acquired  by  the  United  States  with  respect  to  all  the 
countries  of  America.  That  end  will  be  reached  whenever 
the  United  States  desires  it  and  wills  it,  and  is  ready  to  take 
the  steps  necessary  to  secure  it.  At  present  the  trade  with 
Spanish-America  runs  so  strongly  in  channels  adverse  to  us, 
that,  besides  our  inability  to  furnish  manufactured  articles,  we 
do  not  get  the  profit  on  our  own  raw  products  that  are  shipped 
there.  Our  petroleum  reaches  most  of  the  Spanish- American 
ports  after  twice  crossing  the  Atlantic,  paying  often  a  better 
profit  to  the  European  middleman  who  handles  it  than  it  does 
to  the  producer  of  the  oil  in  the  northwestern  counties  of 
Pennsylvania.  Flour  and  pork  from  the  West  reach  Cuba  by 
way  of  Spain,  and,  though  we  buy  and  sell  ninety  per  cent,  of 
the  total  products  of  Cuba,  almost  that  proportion  of  her  pur 
chases  are  made  in  Europe — made,  of  course,  with  money  fur 
nished  directly  from  our  pockets. 

"  As  our  exports  to  Spanish-America  grow  less  as  European 
imports  constantly  grow  larger,  the  balance  against  us  will 
show  an  annual  increase,  and  will  continue  to  exhaust  our 
supply  of  the  precious  metals.  We  are  increasing  our  imports 
from  South  America,  and  the  millions  we  annually  pay  for 
coffee,  wool,  hides,  guano,  cinchona,  caoutchouc,  cabinet  woods, 
dye  woods,  and  other  articles,  go  for  the  ultimate  benefit  of 
European  manufacturers  who  take  the  gold  from  us  and  send 
their  fabrics  to  Spanish-America.  If  we  could  send  our  fab 
rics  our  gold  would  stay  at  home  and  our  general  prosperity 
would  be  sensibly  increased.  But  so  long  as  we  repel  Spanish- 
America,  so  long  as  we  leave  her  to  cultivate  intimate  relations 
with  Europe  alone,  so  long  our  trade  relations  will  remain  un 
satisfactory  and  even  embarrassing.  Those  countries  sell  to 
us  very  heavily  ;  they  buy  from  us  very  lightly.  And  the 
amount  they  bring  us  in  debt  each  year  is  larger  than  the 
heaviest  aggregate  balance  of  trade  we  ever  have  against  us  in 
the  worst  of  times.  The  average  balance  against  us  for  the 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

whole  world  in  the  five  most  adverse  years  we  ever  experi 
enced  was  about  $100,000,000.  This  plainly  shows  that  in 
our  European  exchanges  there  is  always  a  balance  in  our 
favor,  and  that  our  chief  deficiency  arises  from  our  malad 
justed  commercial  relations  with  Spanish-America.  It  follows 
that  if  our  Spanish-American  trade  were  placed  on  a  better 
and  more  equitable  foundation  it  would  be  almost  impossible, 
even  in  years  most  unfavorable  to  us,  to  bring  us  in  debt  to 
the  world. 

"  With  such  heavy  purchases  as  we  are  compelled  to  make 
from  Spanish-America,  it  could  hardly  be  expected  that  we 
should  be  able  to  adjust  the  entire  account  by  exports.  But 
the  balance  against  us  of  $  \  20,000,000  in  gold  is  far  too  large, 
and  in  time  of  stringency  is  a  standing  menace  of  final  disaster. 
It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  every  million  dollars  of  products 
or  fabrics  that  we  sell  in  Spanish  America  is  a  million  dollars 
in  gold  saved  to  our  own  country.  The  immediate  profit  is 
to  the  producer  and  exporter,  but  the  entire  country  realizes  a 
gain  in  the  ease  and  affluence  of  the  money  market  which  is 
insured  by  keeping  our  gold  at  home.  The  question  involved 
is  so  large,  the  object  to  be  achieved  is  so  great,  that  no  effort 
on  the  part  of  the  government  to  accomplish  it  could  be  too 
earnest  or  too  long  continued. 

"  It  is  only  claimed  for  the  peace  congress,  designed  under 
the  administration  of  Garfield,  that  it  was  an  important  and  im 
pressive  step  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  toward  closer 
relationship  with  our  continental  neighbors.  The  present 
tendency  in  those  countries  is  toward  Europe,  and  it  is  a  la 
mentable  fact  that  their  people  are  not  so  near  to  us  in  feeling 
as  they  were  sixty  years  ago  when  they  threw  off  the  yoke 
of  Spanish  tyranny.  We  were  then  a  weak  republic  of  but 
10,000,000,  but  we  did  not  hesitate  to  recognize  the  inde 
pendence  of  the  new  governments  even  at  the  risk  of  war  with 
Spain.  Our  foreign  policy  at  that  time  was  specially  designed 
to  extend  our  influence  in  the  western  hemisphere,  and  the 
statesmen  of  that  era — the  era  of  De  Witt  Clinton  and  the 
younger  Adams,  of  Clay  and  of  Crawford,  of  Webster  and 
Calhoun,  of  Van  Buren  and  Benton,  of  Jackson  and  of  Edward 


I3O  HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

Livingston — were  always  courageous  in  the  inspiring  measures 
which  they  advocated  for  the  expansion  of  our  commercial  do 
minion. 

"  Threescore  years  have  passed.  The  power  of  the  repub 
lic  in  many  directions  has  grown  beyond  all  anticipation,  but 
we  have  relatively  lost  ground  in  some  great  fields  of  enter 
prise.  We  have  added  thousands  of  miles  to  our  ocean  front, 
but  our  commerce  has  fallen  off,  and  from  ardent  friendship 
with  Spanish-America  we  have  drifted  into  indifference,  if  not 
into  coolness.  It  is  but  one  step  further  to  reach  a  condition 
of  positive  unfriendliness,  which  would  end  in  what  would  be 
equivalent  to  a  commercial  alliance  against  us.  Already  one 
of  the  most  dangerous  of  movements — that  of  a  European 
guarantee  and  guardianship  of  the  Inter-oceanic  canal — is 
suggested  and  urged  upon  the  great  foreign  powers  by  repre 
sentatives  of  a  South  American  country.  If  these  tendencies 
are  to  be  averted,  if  Spanish- American  friendship  is  to  be  re 
gained,  if  the  commercial  empire  that  legitimately  belongs  to 
us  is  to  be  ours,  we  must  not  lie  idle  and  witness  its  transfer 
to  others.  If  we  would  reconquer  it  a  great  first  step  is  to  be 
taken.  It  is  the  first  step  that  costs.  It  is  also  the  first  step 
that  counts.  Can  there  be  suggested  a  wiser  step  than  the 
peace  congress  of  the  two  Americas  that  was  devised  under 
Garficld  and  had  the  weight  of  his  great  name  ? 

"  In  no  event  could  harm  have  resulted  in  the  assembling 
of  the  peace  congress — failure  was  next  to  impossible.  Suc 
cess  might  be  regarded  as  certain.  The  subject  to  be  discussed 
was  peace,  and  how  it  can  be  permanently  preserved  in  North 
and  South  America.  The  labors  of  the  congress  would  have 
probably  ended  in  a  well-digested  system  of  arbitration,  under 
which  all  trouble  between  American  States  could  be  quickly, 
effectually  and  satisfactorily  adjusted.  Such  a  consummation 
would  have  been  worth  a  great  struggle  and  a  great  sacrifice. 
It  could  have  been  reached  without  any  struggle  and  would 
have  involved  no  sacrifice.  It  was  within  our  grasp.  It  was 
ours  for  the  asking.  It  would  have  been  a  signal  victory  of 
philanthropy  over  the  selfishness  of  human  ambition  ;  a  com 
plete  triumph  of  Christian  principles  as  applied  to  the  affairs 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  13! 

of  nations.  It  would  have  reflected  enduring  honor  on  our 
own  country,  and  would  have  imparted  a  new  spirit  and  a  new 
brotherhood  to  all  America.  Nor  would  its  influence  beyond 
the  sea  have  been  small.  The  example  of  seventeen  indepen 
dent  nations  solemnly  agreeing  to  abolish  the  arbitrament  of 
the  sword  and  to  settle  every  dispute  by  peaceful  methods  of 
adjudication,  would  have  exerted  an  influence  to  the  utmost 
confines  of  civilization  and  upon  the  generations  of  men  yet 
to  come.  "JAMES  G.  ELAINE." 

A  further  exposition  of  his  views  upon  this  matter  occurs 
in  the  following  paragraph  from  "  Twenty  Years  of  Con- 
gress:" 

"  This  brief  history  of  the  spirit  rather  than  the  events 
which  characterized  the  foreign  relations  of  the  United  States 
during  the  civil  war  has  been  undertaken  with  no  desire  to  re 
vive  the  feelings  of  burning  indignation  which  they  provoked, 
or  to  prolong  the  discussion  of  the  angry  questions  to  which 
they  gave  rise.  The  relations  of  nations  are  not  and  should 
not  be  governed  by  sentiment.  The  interest  and  ambition  of 
States,  like  those  of  men,  will  disturb  the  moral  sense  and  in 
cline  to  one  side  or  the  other  the  strict  balance  of  impartial 
justice.  New  days  bring  new  issues,  and  old  passions  are  un 
safe  counselors.  Twenty  years  have  gone  by.  England  has 
paid  the  cost  of  her  mistake.  The  republic  of  Mexico  has 
seen  the  fame  and  the  fortunes  of  the  emperors  who  sought 
her  conquest  sink  suddenly — as  into  the  pits  which  they  them 
selves  had  digged  for  their  victims — and  the  Republic  of  the 
United  States  has  come  out  of  her  long  and  bitter  struggle,  so 
strong  that  never  again  will  she  afford  the  temptation  of  the 
opportunity  for  unfriendly  governments  to  strike  at  her  national 
life.  Let  the  past  be  the  past,  but  let  it  be  the  past  with  all 
the  instruction  and  warning  of  its  experience. 

"  The  future  safety  of  these  continents  rests  upon  the  strength 
and  maintenance  of  the  Union ;  for,  had  dissolution  been  pos 
sible,  events  have  shown  with  what  small  regard  the  interests 
or  the  honor  of  either  of  the  belligerents  would  have  been 


132  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

treated.  It  has  been  taught  to  the  smaller  republics  that  if 
this  strength  be  shattered  they  will  be  the  spoil  of  foreign 
arms  and  the  dependent  provinces  again  of  foreign  monarchs. 
When  this  contest  was  over  the  day  of  immaturity  had  passed, 
and  the  United  States  stood  before  the  world  a  great  and  per 
manent  power.  That  power  can  afford  to  bury  all  resent 
ments.  Tranquil  at  home,  developing  its  inexhaustible  re 
sources  with  a  rapidity  and  success  unknown  in  history,  bound 
in  sincere  friendship,  and  beyond  the  possibility  of  hostile 
rivalry  with  the  other  republics  of  the  continents,  standing 
midway  between  Asia  and  Europe,  a  power  on  the  Pacific  as 
well  as  on  the  Atlantic,  with  no  temptations  to  intermeddle  in 
the  questions  which  disturb  the  old  world,  the  republic  of  the 
United  States  desires  to  live  in  amicable  relations  with  all 
peoples,  demanding  only  the  abstinence  of  foreign  interven 
tion  in  the  development  of  that  policy  which  her  political 
creed,  her  territorial  extent,  and  the  close  and  cordial  neigh 
borhood  of  kindred  governments  have  made  the  essential  rule 
of  her  national  life." 

Is  there  anything  here  to  which  honest  exception  can  be 
taken  ?  Is  this  the  shadow  of  a  war  ?  No,  it  is  a  clear,  elo 
quent  and  just  exposition  of  the  policy  which  the  United 
States  ought  to  pursue  in  its  relations  with  foreign  countries. 
As  Mr.  Blaine  says,  "  The  relations  of  nations  are  not  and 
should  not  be  governed  by  sentiment."  "  The  interest  and 
ambition  of  States,  like  those  of  men,  will  disturb  the  moral 
sense  and  incline  to  one  side  or  the  other  the  strict  balance  of 
impartial  justice."  Every  nation  which  has  held  a  high  place 
in  history,  or  which  now  exerts  a  commanding  influence  over 
the  affairs  of  the  world,  has  only  reached  that  position  by  a 
constant  struggle  for  supremacy.  Sentiment  has  not  entered 
into  their  political  ethics,  and  will  not  in  the  future.  During 
our  prolonged  struggle  for  the  Union  the  imperial  charlatan 
of  France,  Napoleon  III.,  and  the  Emperor  of  Austria  thought 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  133 

it  to  their  interest  to  establish  an  empire  in  Mexico,  and  the 
subjugation  of  that  country  was  at  once  undertaken.  The 
English  government  calculated  that  the  disunion  of  these 
States  would  redound  to  the  advancement  of  British  interests, 
and  every  aid  possible,  without  making  an  offensive  and  de 
fensive  alliance  with  the  South,  was  extended  to  the  cause  of 
the  pro-slavery  rebellion. 

What  can  be  more  just  than  the  policy  which  Mr.  Elaine 
points  out  as  the  proper  course  for  this  nation  to  pursue  in  its 
relations  with  foreign  powers  ?  Our  "  day  of  immaturity  "  is 
forever  passed,  and  in  population,  wealth,  intelligence,  indus 
try,  agriculture,  commerce,  all  that  pertains  to  genuine  national 
greatness,  we  stand  "  before  the  world  a  great  and  permanent 
power."  We  can  well  afford  "  to  bury  all  resentments."  We 
have  "  no  temptations  to  intermeddle  with  the  questions  which 
disturb  the  old  world."  "  Desiring  to  live  in  amicable  rela 
tion  with  all  peoples,"  the  United  States  only  demands  "  the 
abstinence  of  foreign  intervention "  on  the  American  con 
tinent. 

In  the  Cabinet  of  James  A.  Garfield  James  Gillespie  Elaine 
was  the  President's  chosen  adviser,  and  confidential,  political, 
and  personal  friend,  and  he  took  a  pronounced  part  in  defence 
of  his  chief  when  the  storm  of  opposition  broke. 

When  President  Garfield  appointed  William  H.  Robertson 
— the  political  rival  of  Senator  Conkling  in  New  York  State — 
Collector  of  the  port  of  New  York,  that  Senator  bitterly  op 
posed  the  President's  appointment  in  that  instance,  as  he  be 
lieved  it  was  inspired  by  Senator  Elaine.  After  considerable 
deliberation  the  United  States  Senate  confirmed  the  appoint 
ments,  and  the  two  United  States  Senators  from  New  York — 
Roscoe  Conkling  and  Thomas  C.  Platt — resigned  their  seats 
in  the  Senate,  and  appealed  to  the  Legislature  of  their  State 


134  HON-    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

to  sustain  them  in  their  opposition  to  President  Garfield,  by 
re-electing  them  to  the  seats  which  they  had  resigned ;  but 
after  a  bitter  contest  of  two  months  the  New  York  Legislature 
sustained  the  President's  course  by  defeating  Messrs.  Conk- 
ling  and  Platt,  and  electing  Messrs.  Miller  and  Lapham  in 
their  places ;  and  in  this  struggle  with  Senator  Conkling  Pres 
ident  Garfield  was  sustained  by  the  great  mass  of  the  Repub 
lican  party  throughout  the  country. 

This  was  followed  by  the  dire  tragedy  of  July  2d,  and  the 
whole  world  of  official  happiness  just  opening  to  the  eyes  and 
hopes  of  the  new  President  closed  in  the  momentary  glitter 
of  the  assassin's  pistol-barrel.  Garfield  was  shot.  Through 
all  the  period  of  eighty  days  of  suffering  of  the  President, 
Secretary  Elaine,  the  master-spirit  of  the  President's  Cabinet, 
was  virtually  acting  President;  and  after  Garfield's  death,  and 
Vice-President  Arthur's  inauguration  as  President,  Mr.  Elaine 
remained  in  office  for  several  months,  but  as  he  and  the  new 
President  differed  on  matters  of  public  policy,  one  point  of 
which  was  Mr.  Elaine's  foreign  policy,  the  Secretary  retired 
from  office  late  in  the  fall  of  1881. 

It  was  but  fitting  that  this  man  should  pronounce  the  eu 
logy  over  his  dead  friend,  the  beloved  Statesman,  from  the 
pleasant  places  of  the  Western  Reserve.  On  February  27, 
1882,  the  oration  was  pronounced  in  the  Hall  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  before  a  great  and  distinguished  audience. 
The  orator  said : 

"  MR.  PRESIDENT — For  the  second  time  in  this  generation 
the  great  Departments  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  are  assembled  in  the  Hall  of  Representatives  to  do 
honor  to  the  memory  of  a  murdered  President.  Lincoln  fell 
at  the  close  of  a  mighty  struggle  in  which  the  passions  of 
men  had  been  deeply  stirred.  The  tragical  termination  of  his 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  137 

great  life  added  but  another  to  the  lengthened  succession  of 
horrors  which  had  marked  so  many  lintels  with  the  blood  of 
the  first-born.  Garfield  was  slain  in  a  day  of  peace,  when 
brother  had  been  reconciled  to  brother,  and  when  anger  and 
hate  had  been  banished  from  the  land.  '  Whoever  shall  here 
after  draw  the  portrait  of  murder,  if  he  will  show  it  as  it  has 
been  exhibited  where  such  example  was  last  to  have  been 
looked  for,  let  him  not  give  it  the  grim  visage  of  Moloch,  the 
brow  knitted  by  revenge,  the  face  black  with  settled  hate. 
Let  him  draw,  rather,  a  decorous,  smooth-faced,  bloodless 
demon;  not  so  much  an  example  of  human  nature  in  its  de 
pravity  and  in  its  paroxysms  of  crime,  as  an  infernal  being,  a 
fiend  in  the  ordinary  display  and  development  of  his  char 
acter.' 

"  From  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth  till  the 
uprising  against  Charles  First,  about  twenty  thousand  emi 
grants  came  from  Old  England  to  New  England.  As  they 
came  in  pursuit  of  intellectual  freedom  and  ecclesiastical  inde 
pendence  rather  than  for  worldly  honor  and  profit,  the  emi 
gration  naturally  ceased  when  the  contest  for  religious  liberty 
began  in  earnest  at  home.  The  man  who  struck  his  most 
effective  blow  for  freedom  of  conscience,  by  sailing  for  the  col 
onies  in  1620,  would  have  been  accounted  a  deserter  to  leave 
after  1640.  The  opportunity  had  then  come  on  the  soil  of 
England  for  that  great  contest  which  established  the  authority 
of  Parliament,  gave  religious  freedom  to  the  people,  sent 
Charles  to  the  block,  and  committed  to  the  hands  of  Oliver 
Cromwell  the  supreme  executive  authority  of  England.  The 
English  emigration  was  never  renewed,  and  from  these  twenty 
thousand  men,  with  a  small  emigration  from  Scotland  and 
from  France,  are  descended  the  vast  numbers  who  have 
New  England  blood  in  their  veins. 

"  In  1685  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  by  Louis 
XIV.  scattered  to  other  countries  four  hundred  thousand 
Protestants,  who  were  among  the  most  intelligent  and  enter 
prising  of  French  subjects — merchants  of  capital,  skilled 
manufacturers,  and  handicraftsmen,  superior  at  the  time  to  all 
others  in  Europe.  A  considerable  number  of  these  Huguenot 


138  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

French  came  to  America ;  a  few  landed  in  New  England,  and 
became  honorably  prominent  in  its  history.  Their  names 
have  in  large  part  become  Anglicised,  or  have  disappeared, 
but  their  blood  is  traceable  in  many  of.  the  most  reputable 
families,  and  their  fame  is  perpetuated  in  honorable  memorials 
and  useful  institutions. 

"  From  these  two  sources,  the  English-Puritan  and  the 
French- Huguenot,  came  the  late  President — his  faTher.  At) ram 
Garfield,  being  descended  from  the  one,  and  his  mother,  Eliza 
Ballou,  from  the  other. 

"  It  was  good  stock  on  both  sides — none  better,  none  braver, 
none  truer.  There  was  in  it  an  inheritance  of  courage,  of 
manliness,  of  imperishable  love  of  liberty,  of  undying  adher 
ence  to  principle.  Garfield  was  proud  of  his  blood  ;  and,  with 
as  much  satisfaction  as  if  he  were  a  British  nobleman  reading 
his  stately  ancestral  record  in  Burke's  Peerage,  he  spoke  of 
himself  as  ninth  in  descent  from  those  who  would  not  endure 
the  oppression  of  the  Stuarts,  and  seventh  in  descent  from 
the  brave  French  Protestants  who  refused  to  submit  to  tyranny 
even  from  the  Grand  Monarque. 

"  Gen.  Garfield  delighted  to  dwell  on  these  traits,  and  during 
his  only  visit  to  England,  he  busied  himself  in  discovering 
every  trace  of  his  forefathers  in  parish  registries  and  on 
ancient  army  rolls.  Sitting  with  a  friend,  in  tne  gallery  of  the 
House  of  Commons  one  night,  after  a  long  day's  labor  in  this 
field  of  research,  he  said,  with  evident  elation,  that  in  every 
war  in  which,  for  three  centuries,  patriots  of  English  blood  had 
struck  sturdy  blows  for  constitutional  government  and  human 
liberty,  his  family  had  been  represented.  They  were  at  Mars- 
ton  Moor,  at  Naseby,  and  at  Preston ;  they  were  at  Bunker 
Hill,  at  Saratoga,  and  at  Monmouth,  and  in  his  own  person 
had  battled  for  the  same  great  cause  in  the  war  which  pre 
served  the  Union  of  the  States. 

"  Losing  his  father  before  he  was  two  years  old,  the  early 
life  of  Garfield  was  one  of  privation,  but  its  poverty  has  been 
made  indelicately  and  unjustly  prominent.  Thousands  of 
readers  have  imagined  him  as  the  ragged,  starving  child,  whose 
reality  too  often  greets  the  eye  in  the  squalid  sections  of  our 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  139 

large  cities.  Gen.  Garfield's  infancy  and  youth  had  none  of 
their  destitution,  none  of  their  pitiful  features  appealing  to  the 
tender  heart  and  to  the  open  hand  of  charity.  He  was  a  poor 
boy  in  the  same  sense  in  which  Henry  Clay  was  a  poor  boy; 
in  which  Andrew  Jackson  was  a  poor  boy ;  in  which  Daniel 
Webster  was  a  poor  boy;  in  the  sense  in  which  a  large  ma 
jority  of  the  eminent  men  of  America  in  all  generations  have 
been  poor  boys.  Before  a  great  multitude  of  men,  in  a  public 
speech,  Mr.  Webster  bore  this  testimony : 

" '  It  did  not  happen  to  me  to  be  born  in  a  log-cabin,  but 
my  elder  brothers  and  sisters  were  born  in  a  log-cabin  raised 
amid  the  snow-drifts  of  New  Hampshire,  at  a  period  so  early 
that,  when  the  smoke  rose  first  from  its  rude  chimney  and 
curled  over  the  frozen  hills,  there  was  no  similar  evidence  of 
a  white  man's  habitation  between  it  and  the  settlements  on  the 
rivers  of  Canada.  Its  remains  still  exist.  I  make  to  it  an 
annual  visit.  I  carry 'my  children  to  it  to  teach  them  the 
hardships  endured  by  the  generations  which  have  gone  before 
them.  I  love  to  dwell  on  the  tender  recollections,  the  kindred 
ties,  the  early  affections,  and  the  touching  narratives  and  inci 
dents  which  mingle  with  all  I  know  of  this  primitive  family 
abode.' 

"  With  the  requisite  change  of  scene,  the  same  words  would 
aptly  portray  the  early  days  of  Garfield.  The  poverty  of  the 
frontier,  where  all  are  engaged  in  a  common  struggle,  and 
where  a  common  sympathy  and  a  hearty  co-operation  lighten 
the  burdens  of  each,  is  a  very  different  poverty,  different  in 
kind,  different  in  influence  and  effect  from  that  conscious  and 
humiliating  indigence  which  is  every  day  forced  to  contrast 
itself  with  neighboring  wealth,  on  which  it  feels  a  sense  of 
grinding  dependence.  The  poverty  of  the  frontier  is  indeed 
no  poverty.  It  is  but  the  beginning  of  wealth,  and  has  the 
boundless  possibilities  of  the  future  always  opening  before  it. 
No  man  ever  grew  up  in  the  agricultural  regions  of  the  West 
where  a  house-raising,  or  even  a  corn-husking,  is  matter  of 
common  interest  and  helpfulness,  with  any  other  feeling  than 
that  of  broad-minded,  generous  independence.  This  honor 
able  independence  marked  the  youth  of  Garfield,  as  it  marks 


I4O  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

the  youth  of  millions  of  the  best  blood  and  brain  now  training 
for  the  future  citizenship  and  future  government  of  the  Re 
public.  Garfield  was  born  heir  to  land,  to  the  title  of  free 
holder,  which  has  been  the  patent  and  passport  of  self-respect 
with  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  ever  since  Hengist  and  Horsa 
landed  on  the  shores  of  England.  His  adventure  on  the 
canal — an  alternative  between  that  and  the  deck  of  a  Lake 
Erie  schooner — was  a  farmer  boy's  device  for  earning  money, 
just  as  the  New  England  lad  begins  a  possibly  great  career 
by  sailing  before  the  mast  on  a  coasting  vessel,  or  on  a  mer 
chantman  bound  to  the  Farther  India  or  to  the  China  Seas. 

"  No  manly  man  feels  anything  of  shame  in  looking  back 
to  early  struggles  with  adverse  circumstances,  and  no  man 
feels  a  worthier  pride  than  when  he  has  conquered  the  obsta 
cles  to  his  progress.  But  no  one  of  noble  mould  desires  to 
be  looked  upon  as  having  occupied  a  menial  position,  as  hav 
ing  been  repressed  by  a  feeling  of  inferiority,  or  as  having 
suffered  the  evils  of  poverty  until  relief  was  found  at  the  hand 
of  charity.  General  Garfield's  youth  presented  no  h_aiiiships 
which  family  love  and  family  energy  did  not  overcome,  sub 
jected  him  to  no  privations  which  he  dicPnbt  cheerfully  ac 
cept,  and  left  no  memories  save  those  which  were  recalled  with 
delight,  and  transmitted  with  profit  and  with  pride. 

"  Garfield's  early  opportunities  for  securing  an  education 
were  extremely  limited,  and  yet  were  sufficient  to  develop  in 
him  an  intense  desire  to  learn.  He  could  read  at  three  years 
of  age,  and  each  winter  he  had-4he  benefit  of  the  district 
school.  He  read  all  the  books  to  be  found  within  the  circle  of 
his  acquaintance  ;  some  of  them  he  got  by  heart.  While  yet 
in  childhood  he  was  a  constant  student  of  the  Bible,  and 
became  familiar  with  its  literature.  The  dignity  and  earnest 
ness  of  his  speech  in  his  maturer  life  gave  evidence  of  this 
early  training.  At  eighteen  years  of  age  he  was  able  to  teach 
school,  and  thenceforward  his  ambition  was  to  obtain  a  college 
education.  To  this  end  he  bent  all  his  efforts,  working  in  the 
harvest  field,  at  the  carpenter's  bench,  and,  in  the  winter  sea 
son,  teaching  the  common  schools  of  the  neighborhood. 
While  thus  laboriously  occupied  he  found  time  to  prosecute 


HON.    JAMES   G.    BLAINE.  14! 

his  studies,  and  was  so  successful  that  at  twenty-two  years  of 
age  he  was  able  to  enter  the  junior  class  of  Williams  College, 
then  under  the  presidency  of  the  venerable  and  honored  Mark 
Hopkins,  who  in  the  fullness  of  his  powers  survives  the 
eminent  pupil  to  whom  he  was  of  inestimable  service. 

"  The  history,  of  Garfield's  life  to  this  period  presents  no 
novel  features.  He  had  undoubtedly  shown  perseverance, 
self-reliance,  self-sacrifice  and  ambition — qualities  which,  be  it 
said  for  the  honor  of  our  country,  are  everywhere  to  be  found 
among  the  young  men  of  America.  But  from  his  graduation 
at  Williams  onward,  to  the  hour  of  his  tragical  death,  Garfield's 
career  was  eminent  and  exceptional.  Slowly  working  through 
his  educational  period,  receiving  his  diploma  when  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  he  seemed  at  one  bound  to  spring  into  con 
spicuous  and  brilliant  success.  Within  six  years  he  was  suc 
cessively  President  of  a  College,  State  Senator  of  Ohio,  Major- 
General  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States,  and  Repre 
sentative-elect  to  the  National  Congress.  A  combination  of 
honors  so  varied,  so  elevated,  within  a  period  so  brief  and  to 
a  man  so  young,  is  without  precedent  or  parallel  in  the  history 
of  the  country. 

"Garfield's  army  life  was  begun  with  no  other  military 
knowledge  than  such  as  he  had  hastily  gained  from  books  in 
the  few  months  preceding  his  march  to  the  field.  Stepping 
from  civil  life  to  the  head  of  a  regiment,  the  first  order  he  re 
ceived  when  ready  to  cross  the  Ohio  was  to  assume  command 
of  a  brigade,  and  to  operateas  an  independent  force  in  Eastern 
Kentucky.  His  immediate  duty  was  to  check  the  advance  of 
Humphrey  Marshall,  who  was  marching  down  the  Big  Sandy, 
with  the  intention  of  occupying,  in  connection  with  other 
Confederate  forces,  the  entire  territory  of  Kentucky,  and  of 
precipitating  the  State  into  Secession.  This  was  at  the  close 
of  the  year  1861.  Seldom,  if  ever,  has  a  young  college  pro 
fessor  been  thrown  into  a  more  embarrassing  and  discouraging 
position.  He  knew  just  enough  of  military  science,  as  he  ex 
pressed  it  himself,  to  measure  the  extent  of  his  ignorance,  and 
with  a  handful  of  men  he  was  marching,  in  rough  winter 
weather,  into  a  strange  country,  among  a  hostile  population, 


142  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

to  confront  a  largely  superior  force  under  the  command  of  a 
distinguished  graduate  of  West  Point,  who  had  seen  active  and 
important  service  in  two  preceding  wars. 

"The  result  of  the  campaign  is  matter  of  history.  The 
skill,  the  endurance,  the  extraordinary  energy  shown  by  Gar- 
field  ;  the  courage  he  imparted  to  his  men,  raw  and  untried  as 
himself;  the  measures  he  adopted  to  increase  his  force  and  to 
create  in  the  enemy's  mind  exaggerated  estimates  of  his  num 
bers,  bore  perfect  fruit  in  the  routing  of  Marshall,  the  capture 
of  his  camp,  the  dispersion  of  his  force,  and  the  emancipation 
of  an  important  territory  from  the  control  of  the  Rebellion. 
Coming  at  the  close  of  a  long  series  of  disasters  to  the  Union 
arms,  Garfield's  victory  had  an  unusual  and  extraneous  im 
portance,  and  in  the  popular  judgment  elevated  the  young 
commander  to  the  rank  of  a  military  hero.  With  less  than 
two  thousand  men  in  his  entire  command,  with  a  mobilized 
force  of  only  eleven  hundred,  without  cannon,  he  had  met  an 
army  of  five  thousand  and  defeated  them — driving  Marshall's 
forces  successively  from  two  strongholds  of  their  own  selection, 
fortified  with  abundant  artillery.  Major-General  Buell,  com 
manding  the  Department  of  the  Ohio,  an  experienced  and  able 
soldier  of  the  regular  army,  published  an  order  of  thanks  and 
congratulation  on  the  brilliant  result  of  the  Big  Sandy  cam 
paign,  which  would  have  turned  the  head  of  a  less  cool  and 
sensible  man  than  Garfield.  Buell  declared  that  his  services 
had  called  into  action  the  highest  qualities  of  a  soldier,  and 
President  Lincoln  supplemented  these  words  of  praise  by  the 
more  substantial  reward  of  a  brigadier-general's  commission, 
'to  bear  date  from  the  day  of  his  decisive  victory  over  Marshall. 

"  The  subsequent  military  career  of  Garfield  fully  sustained 
its  brilliant  beginning.  With  his  new  commission  he  was  as 
signed  to  the  command  of  a  brigade  in  the  Army  of  the  Ohio, 
and  took  part  in  the  second  and  decisive  day's  fight  in  the 
great  battle  of  Shiloh.  The  remainder  of  the  year  1862  was 
not  especially  eventful  to  Garfield,  as  it  was  not  to  the  armies 
with  which  he  was  serving.  His  practical  sense  was  called 
into  exercise  in  completing  the  task,  assigned  him  by  General 
Buell,  of  reconstructing  bridges  and  re-establishing  lines  of 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  143 

railway  communication  for  the  army.  His  occupation  in  this 
useful  but  not  brilliant  field  was  varied  by  service  on  Courts-mar 
tial  of  importance,  in  which  department  of  duty  he  won  a  valu 
able  reputation,  attracting-  the  notice  and  securing  the  approval 
of  the  able  and  eminent  judge-advocate-general  of  the  army. 
That  of  itself  was  warrant  to  honorable  fame ;  for,  among  the 
great  men  who  in  those  trying  days  gave  themselves  with  en 
tire  devotion  to  the  service  of  their  country,  one  who  brought 
to  that  service  the  ripest  learning,  the  most  fervid  eloquence, 
the  most  varied  attainments,  who  labored  with  modesty,  and 
shunned  applause,  who  in  the  day  of  triumph  sat  reserved, 
and  silent,  and  grateful — as  Francis  Deak  in  the  hour  of  Hun 
gary's  deliverance — was  Joseph  Holt  of  Kentucky,  who  in  his 
honorable  retirement  enjoys  the  respect  and  veneration  of  all 
who  love  the  Union  of  the  States. 

"  Early  in  1863  Garfield  was  assigned  to  the  highly  impor 
tant  and  responsible  post  of  Chief-of-StafT to  General  Rosecrans, 
then  at  the  head  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland.  Perhaps 
in  a  great  military  campaign  no  subordinate  officer  requires 
sounder  judgment  and  quicker  knowledge  of  men  than  the 
Chief-of-Staff  to  the  Commanding  General.  An  indiscreet 
man  in  such  a  position  can  sow  -more  discord,  breed  more 
jealousy  and  disseminate  more  strife  than  any  other  officer  in 
the  entire  organization.  When  General  Garfield  assumed  his 
new  duties  he  found  various  troubles  already  .well  developed 
and  seriously  affecting  the  value  and  efficiency  of  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland.  The  energy,  the  impartiality,  and  the 
tact  with  which  he  sought  to  allay  these  dissensions,  and  to 
discharge  the  duties  of  .his  new  and  trying  position,  will  always 
remain  one  of  the  most  striking  proofs  of  his  great  versatility. 
His  military  duties  closed  on  the  memorable  field  of  Chicka- 
mauga,  a  field  which,  however  disastrous  to  the  Union  arms, 
gave  to  him  the  occasion  of  winning  imperishable  laurels. 
The  very  rare  distinction  was  accorded  him  of  a  great  promo 
tion  for  his  bravery  on  a  field  that  was  lost.  President  Lincoln 
appointed  him  a  Major- General  in  the  Army  .of  the  United 
States  for  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  in  the  battle  of 
Chickamauga.  , 


144  HON-    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

"  The  Army  of  the  Cumberland  was  reorganized  under  t 
command  of  General  Thomas,  who  promptly  offered  Garfie 
one  of  its  divisions.  He  was  extremely  desirous  to  accept  t 
position,  but  was  embarrassed  by  the  fact  that  he  had,  a  ye 
before,  been  elected  to  Congress,  and  the  time  when  he  mi 
take  his  seat  was  drawing  near.  He  preferred  to  remain 
the  military  service,  and  had  within  his  own  breast  the  larg< 
confidence  of  success  in  the  wider  field  which  his  new  ra 
opened  to  him.  Balancing  the  arguments  on  the  one  side  a 
the  other,  anxious  to  determine  what  was  for  the  best,  des 
ous  above  all  things  to  do  his  patriotic  duty,  he  was  decisive 
influenced  by  the  advice  of  President  Lincoln  and  Secreta 
Stanton,  both  of  whom  assured  him  that  he  could,  at  that  tin 
be  of  especial  value  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  He  i 
signed  his  commission  of  Major-General  on  the  5th  day 
December,  1863,  and  took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Repi 
sentatives  on  the  7th.  He  had  served  two  years  and  fc 
months  in  the  army,  and  had  just  completed  his  thirty-seco 
year. 

"  The  Thirty-eighth  Congress  is  pre-eminently  entitled 
history  to  the  designation  of  the  War  Congress.  It  \\ 
elected  while  the  war  was  flagrant,  and  every  member  ^ 
chosen  upon  the  issues  involved  in  the  continuance  of  t 
struggle.  The  Thirty-seventh  Congress  had  indeed  legislat 
to  a  large  extent  on  war  measures,  but  it  was  chosen  befc 
any  one  believed  that  the  secession  of  the  States  would 
actually  attempted.  The  magnitude  of  the  work  which  f 
upon  its  successor  was  unprecedented,  both  in  respect  to  t 
vast  sums  of  money  raised  for  the  support  of  the  army  a 
navy,  and  of  the  new  and  extraordinary  powers  of  legislate 
which  it  was  forced  to  exercise.  Only  twenty-four  States  we 
represented,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  members  we 
upon  its  roll.  Among  these  were  many  distinguished  par 
leaders  on  both  sides,  veterans  in  the  public  service,  \vi 
established  reputations  for  ability,  and  with  that  skill  whi< 
comes  only  from  parliamentary  experience.  Into  this  c 
semblage  of  men  Garfield  entered  without  special  preparatic 
and  it  might  almost  be  said  unexpectedly.  The  question 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  145 

taking  command  of  a  division  of  troops  under  General  Thomas, 
or  taking  his  seat  in  Congress,  was  kept  open  till  the  last 
moment — so  late,  indeed,  that  the  resignation  of  his  military 
commission  and  his  appearance  in  the  House  were  almost 
contemporaneous.  He  wore  the  uniform  of  a  major-general 
of  the  United  States  Army  on  Saturday,  and  on  Monday,  in 
civilian's  dress,  he  answered  to  the  roll-call  as  a  Representa 
tive  in  Congress  from  the  State  of  Ohio. 

"  He  was  especially  fortunate  in  the  constituency  which 
elected  him.  Descended  almost  entirely  from  New  England 
stock,  the  men  of  the  Ashtabula  district  were  intensely  radical 
on  all  questions  relating  to  human  rights.  Well  educated, 
thrifty,  thoroughly  intelligent  in  affairs,  acutely  discerning  of 
character,  not  quick  to  bestow  confidence,  and  slow  to  with 
draw  it,  they  were  at  once  the  most  helpful  and  most  exacting 
of  supporters.  Their  tenacious  trust  in  men  in  whom  they 
have  once  confided  is  illustrated  by  the  unparalleled  fact  that 
Elisha  Whittlesey,  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  and  James  A.  Garfield 
represented  the  district  for  fifty-four  years. 

"  There  is  no  test  of  a  man's  ability  in  any  department  of 
public  life  more  severe  than  service  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  ;  there  is  no  place  where  so  little  deference  is  paid 
to  reputation  previously  acquired,  or  to  eminence  won  outside  ; 
no  place  where  so  little  consideration  is  shown  for  the  feelings 
or  the  failures  of  beginners.  What  a  man  gains  .in  the  House, 
he  gains  by  sheer  force  of  his  own  character,  and  if  he  loses 
and  falls  back  he  must  expect  no  mercy,  and  will  receive  no 
sympathy.  It  is  a  field  in  which  the  survival  of  the  strongest 
is  the  recognized  rule,  and  where  no  pretense  can  deceive  and 
no  glamour  can  mislead.  The  real  man  is  discovered,  his 
worth  is  impartially  weighed,  his  rank  is  irreversibly  decreed. 

"  With  possibly  a  single  exception,  Garfield  was  the  young 
est  member  in  the  House  when  he  entered,  and  was  but  seven 
years  from  his  college  graduation.  But  he  had  not  been  in 
his  seat  sixty  days  before  his  ability  was  recognized  and  his 
place  conceded.  He  stepped  to  the  front  with  the  confidence 
of  one  who  belonged  there.  The  House  was  crowded  with 
strong  men  of  both  parties ;  nineteen  of  them  have  since  been 


146  HON.   JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

transferred  to  the  Senate,  and  many  of  them  have  served  with 
distinction  in  the  gubernatorial  chairs  of  their  respective  States, 
and  on  foreign  missions  of  great  consequence ;  but  among 
them  all,  none  grew  so  rapidly,  none  so  firmly  as  Garfield. 
As  is  said  by  Trevelyan  of  his  parliamentary  hero,  Garfield 
succeeded  '  because  all  the  world  in  concert  could  not  have 
kept  him  in  the  background ;  and  because,  when  once  in  the 
front,  he  played  his  part  with  a  prompt  intrepidity  and  a  com 
manding  ease  that  were  but  the  outward  symptoms  of  the  im 
mense  reserves  of  energy,  on  which  it  was  in  his  power  to 
draw.'  Indeed  the  apparently  reserved  force  which  Garfield 
possessed  was  one  of  his  great  characteristics.  He  never  did 
so  well  but  that  it  seemed  he  could  easily  have  done  better. 
He  never  expended  so  much  strength  but  that  he  seemed  to 
be  holding  additional  power  at  call.  This  is  one  of  the  hap 
piest  and  rarest  distinctions  of  an  effective  debater,  and  often 
counts  for  as  much  in  persuading  an  assembly  as  the  eloquent 
and  elaborate  argument. 

"  The  great  measure  of  Garfield's  fame  was  filled  by  his 
service  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  His  military  life, 
illustrated  by  honorable  performance,  and  rich  in  promise  was, 
as  he  himself  felt,  prematurely  terminated,  and  necessarily  in 
complete.  Speculation  as  to  what  he  might  have  done  in  a 
field,  where  the  great  prizes  are  so  few,  cannot  be  profitable. 
It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  as  a  soldier  he  did  his  duty  bravely; 
he  did  it  intelligently;  he  won  an  enviable  fame,  and  he 
retired  from  the  service  without  blot  or  breath  against  him. 
As  a  lawyer,  though  admirably  equipped  for  the  profession,  he 
can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  entered  on  its  practice.  The  few 
efforts  he  made  at  the  bar  were  distinguished  by  the  same 
high  order  of  talent  which  he  exhibited  on  every  field  where 
he  was  put  to  the  test,  and  if  a  man  may  be  accepted  as  a  com 
petent  judge  of  his  own  capacities  and  adaptations,  the  law 
was  the  profession  to  which  Garfield  should  have  devoted 
himself.  But  fate  ordained  otherwise,  and  his  reputation  in 
history  will  rest  largely  upon  his  service  in  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives.  That  service  was  exceptionally  long.  He  was 
nine  times  consecutively  chosen  to  the  House,  an  honor 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  147 

enjoyed  by  not  more  than  six  other  Representatives  of  the 
more  than  five  thousand  who  have  been  elected  from  the 
organization  of  the  government  to  this  hour. 

"As  a  parliamentary  orator,  as  a  debater  on  an  issue  squarely 
joined,  where  the  position  had  been  chosen  and  the  ground 
laid  out,  Garfield  must  be  assigned  a  very  high  rank.  More, 
perhaps,  than  any  man  with  whom  he  was  associated  in  public 
life,  he  gave  careful  and  systematic  study  to  public  questions, 
and  he  came  to  every  discussion  in  which  he  took  part  with 
elaborate  and  complete  preparation.  He  was  a  steady  and 
indefatigable  worker.  Those  who  imagine  that  talent  or 
genius  can  supply  the  place,  or  achieve  the  results  of  labor, 
will  find  no  encouragement  in  Garfield's  life.  In  preliminary 
work  he  was  apt,  rapid,  and  skillful.  He  possessed  in  a  high 
degree  the  power  of  readily  absorbing  ideas  and  facts,  and  like 
Dr.  Johnson,  had  the  art  of  getting  from  a  book  all  that  was 
of  value  in  it  by  a  reading,  apparently  so  quick  and  cursory, 
that  it  seemed  like  a-  mere  glance  at  the  table  of  contents. 
He  was  a  pre-eminently  fair  and  candid  man  in  debate,  took 
no  petty  advantage,  stooped  to  no  unworthy  methods,  avoided 
personal  allusions,  rarely  appealed  to  prejudice,  did  not  seek 
to  inflame  passion.  He  had  a  quicker  eye  for  the  strong 
point  of  his  adversary  than  for  his  weak  point,  and  on  his  own 
side  he  so  marshalled  his  weighty  arguments  as  to  make  his 
hearers  forget  any  possible  lack  in  the  complete  strength  of 
his  position.  He  had  a  habit  of  stating  his  opponent's  side 
with  such  amplitude  of  fairness  and  such  liberality  of  conces 
sion  that  his  followers  often  complained  that  he  was  giving 
his  case  away.  But  never  in  his  prolonged  participation  in 
the  proceedings  of  the  House  did  he  give  his  case  away,  or 
fail  in  the  judgment  of  competent  and  impartial  listeners  to 
gain  the  mastery. 

"  These  characteristics,  which  marked  Garfield  as  a  great 
debater,  did  not,  however,  make  him  a  great  parliamentary 
leader.1  A  parliamentary  leader,  as  that  term  is  understood 
wherever  free  representative  government  exists,  is  necessarily 
and  very  strictly  the  organ  of  his  party.  An  ardent  Ameri 
can  defined  the  instinctive  warmth  of  patriotism  when  he 


148  HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

offered  the  toast,  *  Our  country,  always  right ;  but  right  or 
\vrong,  our  country.'  The  parliamentary  leader  who  has  a 
body  of  followers  that  will  do  and  dare  and  die  for  the  cause, 
is  one  who  believes  his  party  always  right,  but  right  or  wrong, 
is  for  his  party.  No  more  important  or  exacting  duty  de 
volves  upon  him  than  the  selection  of  the  field  and  the  time 
for  contest.  He  must  know  not  merely  how  to  strike,  but 
where  to  strike,  and  when  to  strike.  He  often  skilfully  avoids 
the  strength  of  his  opponent's  position,  and  scatters  confusion 
in  his  ranks  by  attacking  an  exposed  point,  when  really  the 
righteousness  of  the  cause  and  the  strength  of  logical  in- 
trenchment  are  against  him.  He  conquers  often  both  against 
the  right  and  the  heavy  battalions,  as- when  young  Charles 
Fox,  in  the  days  of  his  Toryism,  carried  the  House  of  Com 
mons  against  justice,  against  its  immemorial  rights,  against 
his  own  convictions,  if,  indeed,  at  that  period  Fox  had  con 
victions,  and,  in  the  interest  of  a  corrupt  administration,  in 
obedience  to  a  tyrannical  sovereign,  drove  Wilkes  from  the 
seat  to  which  the  electors  of  Middlesex  had  chosen  him  and 
installed  Luttrell  in  defiance,  not  merely  of  law  but  of  public 
decency.  For  an  achievement  of  that  kind  Garficld  was  dis 
qualified — disqualified  by  the  texture  of  his  mind,  by  the  hon 
esty  of  his  heart,  by  his  conscience,  and  by  every  instinct  and 
aspiration  of  his  nature. 

"The  three  most  distinguished  parliamentary  leaders  hith 
erto  developed  in  this  country  are  Mr.  Clay,  Mr.  Douglas  and 
Mr.  Thaddeus  Stevens.  Each  was  a  man  of  consummate* 
ability,  of  great  earnestness,  of  intense  personality,  differing 
widely,  each  from  the  others,  and  yet  with  a  signal  trait  in 
common — the  power  to  command.  In  the  give  and  take  of 
daily  discussion,  in  the  art  of  controlling  and  consolidating 
reluctant  and  refractory  followers ;  in  the  skill  to  overcome 
all  forms  of  opposition,  and  to  meet  with  competency  and 
courage  the  varying  phases  of  unlooked-for  assault  or  unsus 
pected  defection,  it  would  be  difficult  to  rank  with  these  a 
fourth  name  in  all  our  Congressional  history.  But  of  these 
Mr.  Clay  was  the  greatest.  It  would  perhaps  be  impossible 
to  find  in  the  parliamentary  annals  of  the  world  a  parallel  to 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  149 

Mr.  Clay,  in  1841,  when  at  sixty-four  years  of  age  he  took  the 
control  of  the  Whig  party  from  the  President  who  had  received 
their  suffrages,  against  the  power  of  Webster  in  the  Cabinet, 
against  the  eloquence  of  Choate  in  the  Senate,  against  the 
Herculean  efforts  of  Caleb  Cushing  and  Henry  A.  Wise  in  the 
House.  In  unshared  leadership,  in  the  pride  and  plenitude 
of  power,  he  hurled  against  John  Tyler  with  deepest  scorn 
the  mass  of  that  conquering  column  which  had  swept  over  the 
land  in  1840,  and  drove  his  administration  to  seek  shelter  be 
hind  the  lines  of  his  political  foes.  Mr.  Douglas  achieved  a 
victory  scarcely  less  wonderful  when,  in  1854,  against  the 
secret  desires  of  a  strong  administration,  against  the  wise 
counsel  of  the  elder  chiefs,  against  the  conservative  instincts 
and  even  the  moral  sense  of  the  country,  he  forced  a  reluctant 
Congress  into  a  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise.  Mr. 
Thaddeus  Stevens  in  his  contests  from  1865  to  1868  actually 
advanced  his  parliamentary  leadership  until  Congress  tied  the 
hands  of  the  President  and  governed  the  country  by  its  own 
will,  leaving  only  perfunctory  duties  to  be  discharged  by  the 
executive.  With  two  hundred  millions  of  patronage  in  his 
hands  at  the  opening  of  the  contest,  aided  by  the  active  force 
of  Seward  in  the  Cabinet,  and  the  moral  power  of  Chase  on 
the  bench,  Andrew  Johnson  could  not  command  the  support 
of  one-third  in  either  House  against  the  parliamentary  upris 
ing  of  which  Thaddeus  Stevens  was  the  animating  spirit  and 
the  unquestioned  leader. 

"  From  these  three  great  men  Garfield  differed  radically, 
differed  Jn_the_  quality  of  his  mind,  in  temperament,  in  the 
form  and  phase  of  ambition.  He  could  not  do  what  they  did, 
but  he  could  do  what  they  could  not,  and  in  the  breadth  of  his 
Congressional  work  he  left  that  which  will  longer  exert  a 
potential  influence  among  men,  and  which  measured  by  the 
severe  test  of  posthumous  criticism,  will  secure  a  more  endur 
ing  and  more  enviable  fame. 

"Those  unfamiliar  with  Garfield's  industry  and  ignorant  of 
the  details  of  his  work,  may,  in  some  degree,  measure  them 
l>y  the  annals  of  Congress.  No  one  of  the  generation  of  pub 
lic  men  to  which  he  belonged  has  contributed  so  much  that 


150  H ON!1  JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

will  be  valuable  for  future  reference.  His  speeches  are.  numer 
ous,  many  of  them  brilliant,  all  of  them  well  studied,  carefully 
phrased,  and  exhaustive  of  the  subject  under  consideration. 
Collected  from  the  scattered  pages  of  ninety  royal  octavo 
volumes  of  Congressional  Record,  they  would  present  an  in 
valuable  compendium  of  the  political  history  of  the  most  im 
portant  era  through  which  the  national  government  has  ever 
passed.  When  the  history  of  this  period  shall  be  impartially 
written,  when  war  legislation,  measures  of  reconstruction,  pr&- 
tection  of  human  rights,  amendments  to  the  Constitution, 
maintenance  of  public  credit,  steps  towards  specie  resumption, 
true  theories  of  revenue  may  be  reviewed,  unsurrounded  by 
prejudice  and  disconnected  from  partisanism,  the  speeches  of 
Garfield  will  be  estimated  at  their  true  value,  and  will  be  found 
to  comprise  a  vast  magazine  of  fact  and  argument,  ot  clear 
analysis  and  sound  conclusion.  Indeed,  if  no  other  authority 
were  accessible,  his  speeches  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
from  December,  1863,  to  June,  1880,  would  give  a  well-con 
nected  history  and  complete  defence  of  the  important  legisla 
tion  of  the  seventeen  eventful  years  that  constitute  his  parlia 
mentary  life.  Far  beyond  that,  his  speeches  would  be  found 
to  forecast  many  great  measures,  yet  to  be  completed — meas 
ures  which  he  knew  were  beyond  the  public  opinion  of  the 
hour,  but  which  he  confidently  believed  would  secure  popular 
approval  within  the  period  of  his  own  lifetime,  and  by  the  aid 
of  his  own  efforts. 

"  Differing  as  Garfield  does,  from  the  brilliant  parliamentary 
leaders,  it  is  not  easy  to  find  his  counterpart  anywhere  in  the 
record  of  American  public  life.  He  perhaps  more  nearly  re 
sembles  Mr.  Seward  in  his  supreme  faith  in  the  all-conquering 
power  of  a  principle.  He  had  the  love  of  learning,  and  the 
patient  industry  of  investigation,  to  which  John  Quincy  Adams 
owes  his  prominence  and  his  Presidency.  He  had  some  of 
those  ponderous  elements  of  mind  which  distinguished  Mr. 
Webster,  and  which,  indeed,  in  all  our  public  life  have 
left  the  great  Massachusetts  Senator  without  an  intellectual 
peer. 

"  In  English  Parliamentary  history,  as  in  our  own,  the  leaders 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  15! 

in  the  House  of  Commons  present  points  of  essential  differ 
ence  from  Garfield.  But  some  of  his  methods  recall  the  best 
features  in  the  strong,  independent  course  of  Sir  Robert  Peel, 
and  striking  resemblances  are  discernible  in  that  most  prom 
ising  of  modern  conservatives,  who  died  too  early  for  his 
country  and  his  fame,  the  Lord  George  Bentinck.  He  had 
all  of  Burke's  love  for  the  Sublime  and  the  Beautiful,  with, 
possibly,  something  of  his  superabundance ;  and  in  his  faith 
arfd  his  magnanimity,  in  his  power  of  statement,  in  his  subtle 
analysis,  in  his  faultless  logic,  in  his  love  of  literature,  in  his 
wealth  and  world  of  illustration,  one  is  reminded  of  that  great 
English  statesman  of  to-day,  who,  confronted  with  obstacles 
that  .would  daunt  any  but  the  dauntless,  reviled  by  those 
whom  he  would  relieve  as  bitterly  as  by  those  whose  supposed 
rights  he  is  forced  to  invade,  still  labors  with  serene  courage 
for  the  amelioration  of  Ireland,  and  for  the  honor  of  the  Eng 
lish  name. 

"  Garfield's  nomination  to  the  Presidency,  while  not  pre 
dicted  or  anticipated,  was  not  a  surprise  to  the  country.  His 
prominence  in  Congress,  his  solid  qualities,  his  wide  reputa 
tion,  strengthened  by  his  then  recent  election  as  Senator  from 
Ohio,  kept  him  in  the  public  eye  as  a  man  occupying  the  very 
highest  rank  among  those  entitled  to  be  called  statesmen.  It 
was  not  mere  chance  that  brought  him  this  high  honor.  '  We 
must,'  says  Mr.  Emerson,  '  reckon  success  a  constitutional 
trait.  If  Eric  is  in  robust  health,  and  has  slept  well,  and  is  at 
the  top  of  his  condition,  and  thirty  years  old  at  his  departure 
from  Greenland,  he  will  steer  west  and  his  ships  will  reach 
Newfoundland.  But  take  Eric  out  and  put  in  a  stronger  and 
bolder  man,  and  the  ships  will  sail  six  hundred,  one  thousand, 
fifteen  hundred  miles  farther  and  reach  Labrador  and  New 
England.  There  is  no  chance  in  results.' 

"As  a  candidate  Garfield  steadily  grew  in  popular  favor. 
He  was  met  with  a  storm  of  detraction  at  the  very  hour  of  his 
nomination,  and  it  continued  with  increasing  volume  and  mo 
mentum  "until  the  close  of  his  victorious  campaign : 

"  No  might  or  greatness  in  mortality  . 
Can  censure  'scape;  backwounding  calumny 


152  HON.    JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

The  whitest  virtue  strikes.     What  king  so  strong 
Can  tie  the  gall  up  in  the  slanderous  tongue  ? 

"Under  it  all  he  was  calm,  and  strong,  and  confident;  never 
lost  his  self-possession,  did  no  unwise  act,  spoke  no  hasty  or 
ill-considered  word.  Indeed,  nothing  in  his  whole  life  is  more 
remarkable  or  more  creditable  than  his  bearing  through  those 
five  full  months  of  vituperation — a  prolonged  agony  of  trial 
to  a  sensitive  man,  a  constant  and  cruel  draft  upon  the  powers 
of  moral  endurance.  The  great  mass  of  these  unjust  imputa 
tions  passed  unnoticed,  and  with  the  general  debris  of  the 
campaign  fell  into  oblivion.  But,  in  a  few  instances,  the  iron 
entered  his  soul,  and  he  died  with  the  injury  unforgotten  if 
not  unforgiven. 

"  One  aspect  of  Garfield's  candidacy  was  unprecedented. 
Never  before,  in  the  history  of  partisan  contests  in  this 
country,  had  a  successful  Presidential  candidate  spoken  freely 
on  passing  events  and  current  issues.  To  attempt  anything 
of  the  kind  seemed  novel,  rash,  and  even  desperate.  The 
older  class  of  voters  recalled  the  unfortunate  Alabama  letter, 
in  which  Mr.  Clay  was  supposed  to  have  signed  his  political 
death-warrant.  They  remembered  also  the  hot-tempered 
effusion  by  which  General  Scott  lost  a  large  share  of  his  pop 
ularity  before  his  nomination,  and  the  unfortunate  speeches 
which  rapidly  consumed  the  remainder.  The  younger  voters 
had  seen  Mr.  Greeley  in  a  series  of  vigorous  and  original  ad 
dresses  preparing  the  pathway  for  his  own  defeat.  Unmindful 
of  these  warnings,  unheeding  the  advice  of  friends,  Garfield 
spoke  to  large  crowds  as  he  journeyed  to  and  from  New  York 
in  August,  to  a  great  multitude  in  that  city,  to  delegations  and 
deputations  of  every  kind  that  called  at  Mentor  during  the 
summer  and  autumn.  With  innumerable  critics,  watchful  and 
eager  to  catch  a  phrase  that  might  be  turned  into  odium  or 
ridicule,  or  a  sentence  that  might  be  distorted  to  his  own  or 
his  party's  injury,  Garfield  did  not  trip  or  halt  in  any  one  of 
his  seventy  speeches.  This  seems  all  the  more  remarkable, 
when  it  is  remembered  that  he  did  not  write  what  he  said,  and 
yet  spoke  with  such  logical  consecutiveness  of  thought,  and 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  153 

such  admirable  precision  of  phrase  as  to  defy  the  accident  of 
misreport  and  the  malignity  of  misrepresentation. 

"  In  the  beginning  of  his  Presidential  life  Garfield's  experi 
ence  did  not  yield  him  pleasure  or  satisfaction.  The  duties 
that  engross  so  large  a  portion  of  the  President's  time  were 
distasteful  to  him,  and  were  unfavorably  contrasted  with  his 
legislative  work.  '  I  have  been  dealing  all  these  years  with 
ideas,'  he  impatiently  exclaimed  one  day,  '  and  here  I  am 
dealing  only  with  persons.  I  have  been  heretofore  treating  of 
the  fundamental  principles  of  government,  and  here  I  am  con 
sidering  all  day  whether  A  or  B  shall  be  appointed  to  this  or 
that  office.'  He  was  earnestly  seeking  some  practical  way  of 
correcting  the  evils  arising  from  the  distribution  of  overgrown 
and  unwieldy  patronage — evils  always  appreciated  and  often 
discussed  by  him,  but  whose  magnitude  had  been  more  deeply 
impressed  upon  his  mind  since  his  accession  to  the  Presidency. 
Had  he  lived,  a  comprehensive  improvement  in  the  mode  of 
appointment,  and  in  the  tenure  of  office,  would  have  been 
proposed  by  him,  and  with  the  aid  of  Congress  no  doubt 
perfected. 

"  But,  while  many  of  the  Executive  duties  were  not  grateful 
to  him,  he  was  assiduous  and  conscientious  in  their  discharge. 
From  the  very  outset  he  exhibited  administrative  talent  of  a 
high  order.  He  grasped  the  helm  of  office  with  the  hand  of  a 
master.  In  this  respect,  indeed,  he  constantly  surprised  many 
who  were  most  intimately  associated  with  him  in  the  govern 
ment,  and  especially  those  who  feared  that  he  might  be  lack 
ing  in  the  executive  faculty.  His  disposition  of  business  was 
orderly  and  rapid.  His  power  of  analysis  and  his  skill  in 
classification  enabled  him  to  dispatch  a  vast  mass  of  detail 
with  singular  promptness  and  ease.  His  Cabinet  meetings 
were  admirably  conducted.  His  clear  presentation  of  official 
subjects,  his  well-considered  suggestion  of  topics  on  which 
discussion  was  invited,  his  quick  decision  when  all  had  been 
heard,  combined  to  show  a  thoroughness  of  mental  training 
as  rare  as  his  natural  ability  and  his  facile  adaptation  to  a  new 
and  enlarged  fiefd  of  labor. 

"  With  perfect  comprehension  of  all  the  inheritances  of  the 


154  HON-    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

war,  with  a  cool  calculation  of  the  obstacles  in  his  way,  im 
pelled  always  by  a  generous  enthusiasm,  Garfield  conceived 
that  much  might  be  done  by  his  Administration  towards  re 
storing  harmony  between  the  different  sections  of  the  Union. 
He  was  anxious  to  go  south  and  speak  to  the  people.  As 
early  as  April  he  had  ineffectually  endeavored  to  arrange  for 
a  trip  to  Nashville,  whither  he  had  been  cordially  invited,  and 
he  was  again  disappointed  a  few  weeks  later  to  find  that  he 
could  not  go  to  South  Carolina,  to  attend  the  Centennial  Cele 
bration  of  the  victory  of  the  Cowpens.  But  for  the  autumn 
he  definitely  counted  on  being  present  at  three  memorable 
assemblies  in  the  South,  the  celebration  of  Yorktown,  the 
opening  of  the  Cotton  Exposition  at  Atlanta,  and  the  meet 
ing  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  at  Chattanooga.  He 
was  already  turning  over  in  his  mind  his  address  for  each  oc 
casion,  and  the  three  taken  together,  he  said  to  a  friend,  gave 
him  the  exact  scope  and  verge  which  he  needed.  At  York- 
town  he  would  have  before  him  the  associations  of  a  hundred 
years  that  bound  the  South  and  North  in  the  sacred  memory 
of  a  common  danger  and  a  common  victory.  At  Atlanta  he 
would  present  the  material  interests  and  the  industrial  develop 
ments  which  appealed  to  the  thrift  and  independence  of  every 
household,  and  which  should  unite  the  two  sections  by  the 
instinct  of  self-interest  and  self-defense.  At  Chattanooga  he 
would  revive  memories  of  the  war  only  to  show  that,  after  all 
its  disaster  and  all  its  suffering,  the  country  was  stronger  and 
greater,  the  Union  rendered  indissoluble,  and  the  future, 
through  the  agony  and  blood  of  one  generation,  made  brighter 
and  better  for  all. 

"  Garfield's  ambition  for  the  success  of  his  Adtnjnistration 
was  high. \  With  strong  caution  and  conservatism  in  his  nature, 
he  was  in  no  danger  of  attempting  rash  experiments  or  of  re 
sorting  to  the  empiricism  of  statesmanship.  But  he  believed 
that  renewed  and  closer  attention  should  be  given  to  questions 
affecting  the  material  interests  and  commercial  prospects  of 
fifty  millions  of  people.  He  believed  that  pur  continental  re 
lations,  extensive  and  undeveloped  as  they  are,  involved  re 
sponsibility,  and  could  be  cultivated  into  profitable  friendship, 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  155 

or  be  abandoned  to  harmful  indifference  or  lasting  enmity. 
He  believed  with  equal  confidence,  that  an  essential  fore 
runner  to  a  new  era  of  national  progress  must  be  a  feeling  of 
contentment  in  every  section  of  the  Union,  and  a  generous 
belief  that  the  benefits  and  burdens  of  government  would  be 
common  to  all.  Himself  a  conspicuous  illustration  of  what 
ability  and  ambition  may  do  under  Republican  institutions, 
he  loved  his  country  with  a  passion  of  patriotic  devotion,  and 
every  waking  thought  was  given  to  her  advancement.  He 
was  an  American  in  all  his  aspirations,  and  he  looked  to  the 
destiny  and  influence  of  the  United  States  with  the  philosophic 
composure  of  Jefferson,  and  the  demonstrative  confidence  of 
John  Adams. 

"  The  political  events  which  disturbed  the  President's  serenity 
for  many  weeks  before  that  fateful  day  in  July  form  an  im 
portant  chapter  in  his  career,  and,  in  his  own  judgment,  in 
volved  questions  of  principle  and  of  right  which  are  vitally 
essential  to  the  constitutional  administration  of  the  Federal 
Government.  It  would  be  out  of  place  here  and  now  to 
speak  the  language  of  controversy ;  but  the  events  referred  to, 
however  they  may  continue  to  be  a  source  of  contention  with 
others,  have  become,  so  far  as  Garfield  is  concerned,  as  much 
a  matter  of  history  as  his  heroism  at  Chickamauga  or  his 
illustrious  service  in  the  House.  Detail  is  not  needful,  and 
personal  antagonism  shall  not  be  rekindled  by  any  word 
uttered  to  day.  The  motives  of  those  opposing  him  are  not  to 
be  here  adversely  interpreted  nor  their  course  harshly  character 
ized.  But  of  the  dead  President  this  is  to  be  said,  and  said 
because  his  own  speech  is  forever  silenced,  and  he  can  no  more 
be  heard  except  through  the  fidelity  and  the  love  of  surviving 
friends.  From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  controversy 
he  so  much  deplored,  the  President  was  never  for  one 
moment  actuated  by  any  motive  of  gain  to  himself  or  of  loss 
to  others.  Least  of  all  men  did  he  harbor  revenge,  rarely  did 
he  even  show  resentment,  and  malice  was  not  in  his  nature. 
He  was  congenially  employed  only  in  the  exchange  of  good 
offices  and  the  doing  of  kindly  deeds. 

"  There  was  not  an  hour,  from  the  beginning  of  the  trouble 


156  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINR 

till  the  fatal  shot  entered  his  body,  when  the  President  would 
not  gladly,  for  the  sake  of  restoring  harmony,  have  retraced 
any  step  he  had  taken  if  such  retracing  had  merely  involved 
consequences  personal  to  himself.  The  pride  of  consistency, 
or  any  supposed  sense  of  humiliation  that  might  result  from 
surrendering  his  position,  had  not  a  feather's  weight  with  him. 
No  man  was  ever  less  subject  to  such  influences  from  within 
or  from  without.  But  after  most  anxious  deliberation  and  the 
coolest  survey  of  all  the  circumstances,  he  solemnly  believed 
that  the  true  prerogatives  of  the  Executive  were  involved  in 
the  issue  which  had  been  raised,  and  that  he  would  be  unfaith 
ful  to  his  supreme  obligation  if  he  failed  to  maintain,  in  all 
their  vigor,  the  Constitutional  rights  and  dignities  of  his  great 
office.  He  believed  this  in  all  the  convictions  of  conscience 
when  in  sound  and  vigorous  health,  and  he  believed  it  in  his 
suffering  and  prostration  in  the  last  conscious  thought  which 
his  wearied  mind  bestowed  on  the  transitory  struggles  of  life. 

"  More  than  this  need  not  be  said.  Less  than  this  could  not 
be  said.  Justice  to  the  dead,  the  highest  obligation  that 
devolves  upon  the  living,  demands  the  declaration  that  in  all 
the  bearings  of  the  subject,  actual  or  possible,  the  President 
was  content  in  his  mind,  justified  in  his  conscience,  immovable 
in  his  conclusions. 

"The  religious  element  in  Garfield's  character  was  deep  and 
earnest.  .In  his  early  youth  he  espoused  the  faith  of  the  Dis 
ciples,  a  sect  of  that  great  Baptist  Communion,  which  in  dif 
ferent  ecclesiastical  establishments  is  so  numerous  and  so 
influential  throughout  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  But  the 
broadening  tendency  of  his  mind  and  his  active  spirit  of  in 
quiry  were  early  apparent,  and  carried  him  beyond  the  dogmas 
of  sect  and  the  restraints  of  association.  In  selecting  a  college 
in  which  to  continue  his  education  he  'rejected  Bethany, 
though  presided  over  by  Alexander  Campbell,  the  greatest 
preacher  of  his  church.  His  reasons  were  characteristic:  first, 
that  Bethany  leaned  too  heavily  toward  slavery ;  and,  second, 
that  being  himself  a  Disciple  and  the  son  of  Disciple  parents, 
he  had  little  acquaintance  with  people  of  other  beliefs,  ai)d  he 
thought  it  would  make  him  more  liberal,  quoting  his  own 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  157 

words,  both  in  his  religious  and  general  views,  to  go  into  a 
new  circle  and  be  under  new  influences. 

"The  liberal  tendency  which  he  anticipated  as  the  result  of 
wider  culture  was  fully  realized.  He  was  emancipated  from 
mere  sectarian  belief,  and  with  eager  interest  pushed  his  in 
vestigations  in  the  direction  of  modern  progressive  thought. 
He  followed  with  quickening  step  in  the  paths  of  exploration 
and  speculation  so  fearlessly  trodden  by  Darwin,  by  Huxley, 
by  Tyndall,  and  by  other  living  scientists  of  the  radical  and 
advanced  type.  His  own  church,  binding  its  disciples  by  no 
formulated  creed,  but  accepting  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
as  the  word  of  God  with  unbiased  liberality  of  private  inter 
pretation,  favored,  if  it  did  not  stimulate,  the  spirit  of  investi 
gation.  Its  members  profess  with  sincerity,  and  profess  only, 
to  be  of  one  mind  and  one  faith  with  those  who  immediately 
followed  the  Master,  and  who  were  first  called  Christians  at 
Antioch. 

"  But  however  high  Garfield  reasoned  of  '  fixed  fate,  free 
will,  foreknowledge  absolute,'  he  was  never  separated  from 
the  Church  of  the  Disciples  in  his  affections  and  in  his  asso 
ciations.  For  him  it  held  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant.  Tb  him 
it  was  the  gate  of  Heaven.  The  world  of  religious  belief  is 
full  of  solecisms  and  contradictions.  A  philosophic  observer 
declares  that  men  by  the  thousand  will  die  in  defense  of  a 
creed,  whose  doctrines  they  do  not  comprehend  and  whose 
tenets  they  habitually  violate.  It  is  equally  true  that  men  by 
the  thousand  will  cling  to  church  organizations  with  instinc 
tive  and  undying  fidelity,  when  their  belief  in  maturer  years  is 
radically  different  from  that  which  inspired  them  as  neophytes. 

"  But  after  this  range  of  speculation,  and  this  latitude  of 
doubt,  Garfield  came  back  always  with  freshness  and  delight 
to  the  simpler  instincts  of  religious  faith,  whjch,  earliest  im 
planted,  longest  survive.  Not  many  weeks  before  his  assassin 
ation,  walking  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  with  a  friend,  and 
conversing  on  those  topics  of  personal  religion  concerning 
which  noble  natures  have  an  unconquerable  reserve,  he  said 
that  he  found  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  simple  petitions 
learned  in  infancy  infinitely  restful  to  him,  not  merely  in  their 


158  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

stated  repetition,  but  in  their  casual  and  frequent  recall  as  he 
went  about  the  daily  duties  of  life.  Certain  texts  of  scripture 
had  a  very  strong  hold  on  his  memory  and  his  heart.  He 
heard,  while  in  Edinburgh  some  years  ago,  an  eminent  Scotch 
preacher  who  prefaced  his  sermon  with  reading  the  eightli 
chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  which  book  had  been 
the  subject  of  careful  study  with  Garfield  during  all  his  re 
ligious  life.  He  was  greatly  impressed  by  the  elocution  of 
the  preacher,  and  declared  that  it  had  imparted  a  new  and 
deeper  meaning  to  the  majestic  utterances  of  St.  Paul.  He 
referred  often  in  after  years  to  that  memorable  service,  and 
dwelt  with  exaltation  of  feeling  upon  the  radiant  promise  and 
the  assured  hope  with  which  the  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles 
was  '  persuaded  that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor 
principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things  to 
come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be 
able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord.' 

"  The  crowning  characteristic  of  General  Garfield's  religious 
opinion,  as,  indeed,  of  all  his  opinions,  was  liberality.  In  all 
things  he  had  charity.  Tolerance  was  of  his  nature.  He 
respected  in  others  the  qualities  which  he  possessed  himself 
— sincerity  of  conviction  and  frankness  of  expression.  With 
him  the  inquiry  was  not  so  much  what  a  man  believes,  but  does 
he  believe  it  ?  The  lines  of  his  friendship  and  his  confidence 
encircled  men  of  every  creed,  and  men  of  no  creed,  and  to  the 
end  of  his  life,  on  his  ever-lengthening  list  of  friends,  were  to 
be  found  the  names  of  a  pious  Catholic  priest  and  of  an  honest- 
minded  and  generous-hearted  free-thinker. 

"  On  the  morning  of  Saturday,  July  2d,  the  President  was  a 
contented  and  happy  man — not  in  an  ordinary  degree,  but 
joyfully,  almost  boyishly  happy.  On  his  way  to  the  railroad 
station  to  which  he  drove  slowly,  in  conscious  enjoyment  of 
the  beautiful  morning,  with  an  unwonted  sense  of  leisure  and 
a  keen  anticipation  of  pleasure,  his  talk  was  all  in  the  grateful 
and  gratulatory  vein.  He  felt  that  after  four  months  of  trial 
his  administration  was  strong  in  its  grasp  of  affairs,  strong  in 
popular  favor  and  destined  to  grow  stronger ;  that  grave  diffi- 


HON.   JAMES   G,    ELAINE.  1 59 

culties  confronting  him  at  his  inauguration  had  been  safely 
passed;  that  trouble  lay  behind  him  and  not  before  him;  that 
he  was  soon  to  meet  the  wife  whom  he  loved,  now  recovering 
from  an  illness  which  had  but  lately  disquieted  and  at  times 
almost  unnerved  him  ;  that  he  was  going  to  his  Alma  Mater  to 
renew  the  most  cherished  associations  of  his  young  manhood, 
and  to  exchange  greetings  with  those  whose  deepening  in 
terest  had  followed  every  step  of  his  upward  progress,  from 
the  day  he  entered  upon  his  college  course  until  he  had  at* 
tained  the  loftiest  elevation  in  the  gift  of  his  countrymen. 

"  Surely  if  happiness  can  ever  come  from  the  honors  or 
triumphs  of  this  world,  on  that  quiet  July  morning,  James  A. 
Garfield  may  well  have  been  a  happy  man.  No  foreboding 
of  evil  haunted  him;  no  slightest  premonition  of  danger 
clouded  his  sky.  His  terrible  fate  was  upon  him  in  an  instant. 
One  moment  he  stood  erect,  strong,  confident  in  the  years 
stretching  peacefully  out  before  him.  The  next  he  lay 
wounded,  bleeding,  helpless,  doomed  to  weary  weeks  of  tor 
ture,  to  silence,  and  the  grave. 

"  Great  in  life,  he  was  surpassingly  great  in  death.  For  no 
cause,  in  the  very  frenzy  of  wantonness  and  wickedness,  by 
the  red  hand  of  murde'r,  he  was  thrust  from  the  full  tide  of 
this  world's  interest,  from  its  hopes,  its  aspirations,  its  victories, 
into  the  visible  presence  of  death — and  he  did  not  quail.  Not 
alone  for  the  one  short  moment  in  which,  stunned  and  dazed, 
he  could  give  up  life,  hardly  aware  of  its  relinquishment,  but 
through  days  of  deadly  languor,  through  weeks  of  agony,  that 
was  not  less  agony  because  silently  borne,  with  clear  sight  and 
calm  courage,  he  looked  into  his  open  grave.  What  blight 
and  ruin  met  his  anguished  eyes,  whose  lips  may  tell — what 
brilliant,  broken  plans,  what  baffled,  high  ambitions,  what 
sundering  of  strong,  warm,  manhood's  friendships,  what  bitter 
rending  of  sweet  household  ties!  Behind  him  a  proud,  ex 
pectant  nation,  a  great  host  of  sustaining  friends,  a  cherished 
and  happy  mother,  wearing  the  full,  rich  honors  of  her  early 
toil  and  tears ;  the  wife  of  his  youth,  whose  whole  life  lay  in 
his ;  the  little  boys  not  yet  emerged  from  childhood's  day  of 
frolic;  the  fair,  young  daughter;  the  sturdy  sons  just  spring- 

10 


I6O  HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

ing  into  closest  companionship,  claiming  every  day  and  every 
hour  the  reward  of  a  father's  love  and  care ;  and  in  his  heart 
the  eager,  rejoicing  power  to  meet  all  demands.  Before  him, 
'desolation  and  great  darkness  !  And  his  soul  was  not  shaken. 
His  countrymen  were  thrilled  with  instant,  profound,  and  uni 
versal  sympathy.  Masterful  in  his  mortal  weakness,  he  be 
came  the  centre  of  a  nation's  love,  enshrined  in  the  prayers  of 
a  world.  But  all  the  love  and  all  the  sympathy  could  not 
share  with  him  his  suffering.  He  trod  the  wine-press  alone. 
With  unfaltering  front  he  faced  death.  With  unfailing  tender 
ness  he  took  leave  of  life.  Above  the  demoniac  hiss  of  the 
assassin's  bullet  he  heard  the  voice  of  God.  With  simple 
resignation  he  bowed  to  the  Divine  decree. 

"As  the  end  drew  near,  his  early  craving  for  the  sea  returned. 
The  stately  mansion  of  power  had  been  to  him  the  wearisome 
hospital  of  pain,  and  he  begged  to  be  taken  from  its  prison 
walls,  from  its  oppressive,  stifling  air,  from  its  homelessness 
and  its  hopelessness.  Gently,  silently,  the  love  of  a  great 
people  bore  the  pale  sufferer  to  the  longed-for  healing  of  the 
sea,  to  live  or  to  die,  as  God  should  will,  within  sight  of  its 
heaving  billows,  within  sight  of  its  manifold  voices.  With 
wan,  fevered  face  tenderly  lifted  to  the  cooling  breeze,  he 
looked  out  wistfully  upon  the  ocean's  changing  wonders ;  on 
its  far  sails,  whitening  in  the  morning  light ;  on  its  restless 
waves,  rolling  shoreward  to  break  and  die  beneath  the  noon 
day  sun ;  on  the  red  clouds  of  evening,  arching  low  to  the 
fhorizon ;  on  the  serene  and  shining  pathway  of  the  stars.  Let 
us  think  that  his  dying  eyes  read  a  mystic  meaning  which  only 
the  rapt  and  parting  soul  may  know.  Let  us  believe  that  in 
the  silence  of  the  receding  world  he  heard  the  great  waves 
breaking  on  a  further  shore,  and  felt  already  upon  his  wasted 
brow  the  breath  of  the  eternal  morning." 


CHAPTER   IX. 

ELAINE  AS  A  POLITICIAN — His  SPEECHES  ON  THE  STUMP — ORATIONS  DURING 
THE  CAMPAIGNS — DISCUSSING  LIVING  ISSUES — LEADING  THE  VOTING  HOSTS 
OF  THE  REPUBLICANS. 

IN  turning  the  reader's  attention  to  Mr.  Elaine  as  a  politi 
cian,  that  is,  a  politician  apart  from  the  political  measures 
and  methods  of  Legislature  and  Congress,  a  politician  as  met 
with  on  the  stump  and  in  the  caucus  chamber — I  do  so  with 
fall  knowledge  that  this  is  a  very  great  side  of  Mr.  Elaine's 
character.  Here  he  is  pre-eminently  at  home,  here  his  elo 
quence  and  courage  are  worth  many  thousand  votes  to  the 
candidate  able  to  secure  them.  And  it  has  been  through  this 
phase  of  his  busy  career  that  he  has  been  brought  face  to  face 
with  the  people.  The  scrutiny  always  resulted  for  him  in 
increased  credit. 

Let  us  read  first  what  was  said  of  our  subject  by  one  who 
knew  him  intimately,  and  had  many  opportunities  of  judging. 
The  great  Governor  Kent,  of  Maine,  the  genial  old  war-horse 
of  Pine-Tree  politics,  of  whom  it  was  once  said — in  1840 — 
and  never  forgotten : 

"  Maine  went 
Hell  bent 
For  Governor  Kent," 

in  a  letter  written  some  years  ago  said  of  Mr.  Elaine :  "Almost 
from  the  day  of  assuming  charge  of  the  Kenncbec  Journal,  at 
the  early  age  of  twenty-three,  Mr.  Elaine  sprang  into  a  posi- 

(161) 


1 62  HON.    JAMES   G.    BLAINE. 

tion  of  great  prominence  in  the  politics  and  policy  of  Maine. 
At  twenty-five  he  was  a  leading  power  in  the  councils  of  the 
Republican  party,  so  recognized  by  Fessenden,  Hamlin, 
the  two  Merrills  and  others,  then  and  still  prominent 
in  the  State.  Before  he  was  twenty-nine  he  was  chosen 
Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Republican 
organization  in  Maine — a  position  he  has  held  ever  since, 
and  from  which  he  has  practically  shaped  and  directed 
every  political  campaign  in  the  State — always  leading  his 
party  to  brilliant  victory.  Had  Mr.  Blaine  been  New  Eng 
land  born,  he  would  not  have  received  such  rapid  advance 
ment  at  so  early  an  age,  even  with  the  same  ability  he  pos 
sessed.  But  there  was  a  sort  of  Western  dasli  about  him  that 
took  with  us  down-Easters ;  an  expression  of  frankness, 
candor  and  confidence  that  gave  him,  from  the  start,  a  very 
strong  and  prominent  hold  on  our  people,  and  as  the  founda 
tion  of  all,  a  pure  character  and  masterly  ability  equal  to  all 
demands  made  upon  him." 

As  we  gaze  at  the  work  that  he  undertook  and  accomplished 
in  the  various  campaigns  of  the  party,  we  cannot  but  admire 
his  wonderful  energy  and  his  ability  to  pour  into  a  campaign 
that  so  very  essential  fire  necessary  to  success. 

He  was  a  very  happy  manager  at  a  crisis.  This  ability  was 
never  better  manifested  than  when  the  Democratic  party  in 
Maine  attempted  to  steal  the  State.  Those  who  were  disposed 
to  regard  Mr.  Blaine  as  an  impulsive  and  possibly  rash  man  were 
kindly  furnished  by  the  Democratic  party  on  this  occasion  with 
the  opportunity  to  be  undeceived.  The  steadiness,  persistence 
and  success  with  which  he  conducted  the  Republican  side  were 
admirable.  He  brought  order  and  law  out  of  chaos  and 
threatened  violence.  No  finer  display  of  statesmanlike  quali 
ties  had  been  seen,  and  the  people  were  not  slow  to  perceive 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  163 

that  in  this  protracted  and  perilous  struggle  their  leader  ex 
hibited  all  the  qualities  required  for  the  discharge  of  the  most 
difficult  and  delicate  duties  of  an  executive  station. 

He  always  has  considered  it  a  part  of  his  political  duties  to 
take  the  stump,  and  while  it  is  not  necessary  to  detail  his  trav 
els  and  work  in  the  campaigns  of  1864,  '68,  '72,  '76  and  '80, 
nor  to  enumerate  the  States  in  which  he  labored  so  conscien 
tiously  for  the  success  of  the  Republican  ticket,  this  volume 
would  be  incomplete  did  I  not  furnish  the  reader  with  exam 
ples  of  Mr.  Elaine's  best  work  in  this  direction. 

The  campaign  of  1876,  more,  perhaps,  than  any  other,  de 
manded  hard  work  from  the  leaders.  We  naturally  turn,  then, 
to  this  campaign  for  brilliant  work.  The  dissatisfaction  then 
threatening  the  life  of  the  Republican  party  had  to  be  met  and 
met  boldly.  Mr.  Elaine's  first  speech  in  Ohio  in  that  campaign 
was  delivered  at  Warren  on  the  24th  of  September.  "  He 
spoke,"  wrote  a  correspondent  of  the  New  -York  Tribune,  "  in 
the  Court-House  Square  to  an  audience  of  over  10,000  people, 
who  had  gathered  from  all  parts  of  the  surrounding  country." 
The  following  are  the  chief  extracts  from  his  speech : 

Now  I  have  something  to  say  of  Mr.  Tilden  regarding  his  position  on  specie 
payments.  After  seeking  to  place  a  Democratic  character  in  your  own  view,  he 
immediately  begins  to  call  you  a  liar  and  other  cpmplimentary  names.  The 
Democrats  say  the  Constitution  forbids  the  payment  of  rebel  claims.  Now  the 
Constitution  does  forget  the  payment  of  two  classes  of  claims.  You  shall  not 
make  any  appropriation  to  pay  the  rebel  debt,  nor  for  the  slaves  that  were  eman 
cipated.  The  Constitution  in  one  clause  of  the  fourteenth  amendment  undoubt 
edly  says  that.  I  will  not  stop  to  argue  that,  though  I  think  even  this  may  be 
got  round,  but  I  will  acknowledge  that  those  gateways  are  closed.  I  will  admit 
there  is  no  danger  of  any  money  being  paid  for  the  rebel  debt,  or  for  the 
slaves  that  were  emancipated.  But  inside  of  that,  gentlemen,  there  is  nothing  in 
the  Constitution  that  forbids  the  payment  for  all  the  articles  that  were  destroyed 
down  South  during  the  war;  all  the  wild  destruction  that  followed  the  war;  all 
the  houses,  the  fences,  the  school-houses,  churches,  towns,  and  the  wheat  and 
the  corn,  and  the  bacon,  and  mules  and  horses,  the  railroads,  bridges  and  cul 
verts,  and  a  thousand  and  one  nameless  sources  of  loss  are  all  payable  to-day  if 
you  can  get  a  majority  in  Congress  to  vote  the  money.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
world  to  prevent  it.  How  do  you  know  that  any  of  them  are  going  to  be  paid  ? 
They  have  very  nearly  200  bills  now  piled  up.  I  have  seen  it  stated  at  140,  but 


164  HON.   JAMES   G.    BLAINE. 

it  is  very  nearly  200  and  of  every  imaginable  thing.  For  the  number  of  these 
bills  you  have  the  testimony  of  Hon.  Wm.  Lawrence,  a  careful,  painstaking,  in 
dustrious  man.  He  is  moderate  in  his  statements  and  has  carefully  examined, 
and  from  his  experience — for  he  is  more  competent  than  any  other  man  in  the 
House — he  said  that  those  already  filed  would  involve  the  payment  of  from  four 
to  seven  hundred  million  dollars  from  the  national  treasury  in  the  event  of  a 
majority  of  the  House  voting  them.  Well,  the  War  Claims  Committee  of  the 
House  sat,  and,  as  I  said,  Judge  Lawrence,  of  Bellefontaine,  was  chairman,  and 
they  had  it  as  a  rule  that  a  man  must  first  establish  his  loyalty  before  establishing 
his  claim.  The  first  thing  that  committee  did  when  the  Democrats  got  control 
of  it  was  to  strike  out  that  requirement  and  let  any  man  put  in  his  claim  for  losses 
without  regard  to  the  question  of  loyalty  at  all.  And  then  another  rule  which 
certainly  the  lawyers,  if  there  be  any  doing  me  the  honor  to  listen  to  me  now,  will 
look  upon  as  remarkable,  that  any  person  putting  in  a  claim  for  damages  should 
have  his  own  evidence,  should  sustain  that  claim  by  his  own  affidavit,  and  that 
of  some  other  person  knowing  the  facts.  Here  comes  John  Smith,  of  Alabama, 
who  has  lost  $20,000  by  the  Union  army ;  and  then  John  Jones  swears  that  is  so. 
This  would  bankrupt  the  Rothschilds.  And  these  are  the  men  that  made  Mr. 
Tilclen  back  out  from  the  doctrine  of  specie  payments  in  1879,  and  there  is  not 
a  Southern  rebel  with  a  claim  to-day  who  does  not  know  instinctively  and  abso 
lutely  that  when  this  country  comes  down  to  the  hard  pan,  to  the  gold  and  silver 
dollar,  you  are  never  going  to  pay  the  taxes  with  a  portion  of  the  rebel  claims, 
for  you  cannot  keep  the  currency  open  at  both  ends — the  paper  money  at  one 
end  and  the  rebel  claims  at  the  other.  No ;  we  will  never  pay  taxes  to  pay 
Southern  claims.  They  cannot  create  a  Southern  revulsion,  but  by  quietly  work 
ing  what  is  known  as  the  inflation  sentiment,  they  hope  to  be  able  to  pay  for  the 
vast  number  of  mules  and  Southern  claims  through  the  manipulation  of  some 
form  of  paper  money.  Take  one  single  claim.  When  we  were  taxing  every 
thing  during  the  war,  from  the  solitary  hair  that  was  left  on  the  bald  man's  pate 
Jto  his  shoe,  we  taxed  cotton,  and  under  the  cotton  tax  collected  $70,000,000. 
Now  they  come  forward  and  ask  that  the  taxes  be  paid  back,  not  to  the  men  who 
paid  the  taxes,  but  that  this  $70,000,000  shall  be  paid  to  the  cotton-producing 
States  in  proportion  to  their  bales  of  cotton.  There  are  fifteen  bills  now  pending 
for  the  payment  of  that  one  claim.  And  now,  gentlemen,  more  startling  than 
anything  else,  on  Thursday  of  last  week,  there  was  a  decision  rendered  in  the 
city  of  Portland,  State  of  Maine,  in  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court,  Judge  Nathan  Clif 
ford  presiding,  with  Daniel  Clark,  District  Judge  for  New  Hampshire,  sitting 
with  him — and  I  want  the  attention  of  the  lawyers  again — confirming  the  judg 
ment  obtained  against  Neal  Dow,  of  the  I3th  Me.  regiment  in  Louisiana,  giving 
judgment  to  the  rebel  against  Dow  personally  for  the  sugar  seized  on  his  planta 
tion  by  a  foraging  party  from  his  regiment.  They  were  out  foraging  and  seized 
some  sugar,  and  the  man  sued  for  it.  And  Dow  said,  "  If  you  are  a  loyal  man 
we  will  give  you  a  receipt,  and  you  will  easily  get  your  pay  for  it."  Now  the 


sugar  was  used  and  a  large  part  of  it  sent  to  the  hospitals.     Dow  says,  "If  you 
will  show  me  your  loyalty  I  will  give  you  a  receipt  for  it,"  and  he  declined  to  do 
it,  and  got  judgment  in  a  Louisiana  court.      The  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  at  Portland 
.ffirmed  that  judgment  and  ordered  execution  to  issue  for  $1,750.  That  being  so, 
say,  gentlemen,  will  it  not  enable  the  man  that  owned  the  field  at  Appomattox 
>)  collect  ground-rent  from  Grant  for  the  occupancy  of  it  and  the  destruction  uf 
he  fences  and  crops  ?  There  has  never  been  so  menacing  a  cloud  as  this  hanging 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  1 65 

over  a  free  people.  More  than  that,  this  decision  was  warmly  dissented  from  by 
Judge  Clark,  of  New  Hampshire.  He  was  brought  up  in  the  true  faith,  but  the  Su 
preme  Court  overruled  him  in  the  person  of  Clifford.  Clifford  is  an  ingrained,  hun 
gry  Democrat ;  double-dyed  and  twisted ;  dyed  in  the  wool  and  coarse  wool  at 
that  [Much  laughter],  and,  in  my  judgment,  he  has  carried  that  case  for  eight 
years,  and  never  offered  that  decision  until  he  in  his  ignorance  believed  in  a 
Democratic  triumph.  If  there  should  be  a  Democratic  dreamer  here,  will  not 
that  gentleman  tell  me  why  any  solitary  battalion  or  division  of  the  army  in  the 
South  cannot  be  sued  for  every  article  of  trespass?  [Laughter.] 

Let  me  read  to  you  of  the  nature  of  the  case.  Ex-Governor  Wood,  of  Ver 
mont,  a  man  of  as  pure  character  as  lives,  writes  over  his  name,  "  I  have  known 
Mr.  Tilden  for  twenty  years.  I  have  debated  this  question  with  him  personally, 
and  I  know  that  he  holds  the  opinion  that  the  war  was  unconstitutional.  I  heard 
him  declare,  in-conversation  with  myself  since  the  close  of  the  war,  that  every 
man  in  the  United  States  Army  that  marched  across  Southern  soil  was  a  tres 
passer,  and  liable  to  suit  for  damages  in  an  action  for  trespass."  I  think  that 
Clifford  read  that  opinion  of  Tilden  the  day  before  he  made  his  decision  in  regard 
to  Dow's  sugar.  And  the  Democrats  tell  you  that  the  Constitution  forbids  the 
payment  of  these  claims.  Never  was  anything  more  menacing  and  alarming  than 
that. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Elaine  had  been  attacked  by  Charles 
Francis  Adams,  in  a  tone  that  was  more  offensive  than  was 
necessary,  and  entirely  beyond  the  bounds  of  campaign  cour 
tesies.  Mr.  Blaine  replied  in  the  following  stirring  speech 
delivered  before  a  large  and  enthusiastic  audience  at  Cincin 
nati.  Mr.  Blaine  said : 

I  observe  that  some  political  letters  of  the  Hon.  Charles  Francis  Adams,  the 
Democratic  candidate  for  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  are  being  disseminated 
through  the  Associated  Press,  and  circulated  as  campaign  tracts  by  his  brother 
Democrats  of  the  West.  In  these  letters  Mr.  Adams  goes  out  of  his  way  quite 
gratuitously  to  speak  of  myself  in  a  tone  that  is  personally  offensive.  I  have 
neither  the  time  nor  the  desire  to  exchange  personalities  with  any  one  in  this 
campaign,  but  there  is  a  very  important  chapter  in  the  political  life  of  Mr.  Adams 
which  at  this  time  should  be  recalled.  I  commend  the  facts  which  I  am  about 
to  set  forth  to  those  voters  who  may  be  led  by  the  sound  of  Mr.  Adams'  name  to 
give  heed  to  his  counsel.  I  shall  speak  from  the  record  and  by  the  record. 
After  the  Republican  victory  in  1860,  which  resulted  in  the  election  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  to  the  Presidency,  Mr.  Adams,  then  a  Representative  in  Congress  from 
Massachusetts,  sought  with  all  his  influence  to  deprive  the  country  of  everything 
that  had  been  gained  by  the  struggle.  If  anything  had  been  settled  by  that  elec 
tion,  it  was  that  slavery  should  be  put  in  the  course  of  extinction,  by  prohibiting 
its  introduction  into  free  territory ;  and  yet,  as  soon  as  the  Southern  Democrats 
in  Congress  began  their  threats  of  disunion,  Mr.  Adams'  knees  smote  with  fear, 
and  his  tongue  became  palsied  for  any  utterance  except  in  support  of  slavery. 
His  whole  course  during  the  closing  session  of  the  Thirty-sixth  Congress,  inter- 


1 66  HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

vening  between  Mr.  Lincoln's  election  and  his  inauguration,  was  one  of  treaso 
to  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  desertion  from  the  cause  of  the  Union.  He  offere 
every  humiliating  concession  to  the  South,  agreed  to  abandon  the  prohibition  o 
slavery  in  the  Territories,  and,  as  the  climax  of  degrading  and  dishonoring  con 
ditions,  he  offered  to  amend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  so  as  to  rende 
the  abolition  of  slavery  impossible  so  long  as  a  single  slave  State  should  object 
The  amendment  so  warmly  urged  by  Mr.  Adams  declared  in  effect  that  nc 
amendment  to  the  Constitution  in  any  way  interfering  with  slavery  in  the  State; 
should  ever  be  even  so  much  as  proposed,  except  by  one  of  the  slave  States,  and 
should  not  be  adopted  except  with  the  consent  of  every  slave  State.  When,  in 
1836,  Arkansas  applied  for  admission  into  the  Union,  with  a  Constitution  which 
forever  prohibited  the  Legislature  from  touching  slavery,  except  with  the  con 
sent  of  the  slaveholders,  John  Quincy  Adams  declared  such  a  provision  to  be 
infamous  beyond  the  power  of  expression ;  and  yet,  Charles  Francis  Adams,  in 
1861,  offered,  and  urged,  and  entreated,  and  pleaded  for  an  amendment  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  which  applied  to  the  whole  country  a  far  more 
infamous  principle  than  was  contained  in  the  Arkansas  Constitution  of  1836. 
Every  franchise  you  enjoy  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  your  right 
to  vote,  freedom  of  religious  opinions,  your  trial  by  jury,  your  right  even  to  rep 
resentation,  were  left  open  to  change  by  the  ordinary  mode  of  amending  the 
Constitution,  but  Mr.  Adams  proposed  to  give  slavery  a  much  more  sacred  guar 
antee  than  had  ever  been  given  to  liberty,  placing  it  beyond  the  power  of  ninety- 
nine  hundredths  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  abolish  it,  unless  a  slave 
State  should  propose  it,  and  every  other  slave  State  vote  for  it.  There  is  no 
parallel  to  this  in  history.  No  ukase  of  Russian  despotism,  in  the  dreariest  clays 
of  Romanoff  tyranny,  ever  so  bound  its  own  hands,  and  placed  it  beyond  its 
own  power  to  do  mercy  and  work  righteousness  in  the  future,  as  Mr.  Adams 
proposed  to  bind  the  hands  of  the  United  States,  and  deprive  our  own  govern 
ment  for  all  time  of  the  power  to  emancipate  a  single  slave,  so  long  as  one  slave 
State  should  object.  Mr.  Adams  has  never  forgiven  Abraham  Lincoln  for  de 
feating  this  atrocious  measure.  Fortunately,  through  Mr.  Lincoln's  silent  influ 
ence  exerted  from  his  Illinois  home,  through  Owen  Lovejoy,  Elihu  \Vashburne, 
and  other  representative  friends  in  Congress,  the  odious  proposition  was  strangled 
without  even  coming  to  a  direct  vote,  but  not  until  Mr.  Adams  had  made  an 
elaborate  plea  for  it.  And  years  after  Mr.  Lincoln  had  gone  to  a  martyr's  grave 
— a  grave  bedewed  with  the  tears  of  millions,  including  those  emancipated 
negroes  whom  Mr.  Adams  had  sought  to  keep  in  eternal  bondage,  Mr.  Adams 
took  occasion,  in  a  eulogy  of  Mr.  Seward,  to  depreciate,  and  belittle,  and  dis 
honor  the  grandest  man  that  had  sat  in  the  Presidential  chair  since  George 
Washington. 

Mr.  Adams,  in  this  petty  and  paltry  course,  was  seeking  an  ignoble  revenge 
over  the  dead  patriot  who,  when  living,  could  never  refer  to  the  Constitutional 
amendment  which  Mr.  Adams  advocated  without  a  thrill  of  horror.  Mr.  Lincoln, 
indeed,  often  declared  that  no  crisis  of  the  war  was  so  terrible,  and  no  possible 
issue  of  it  so  destructive,  as  the  proposition  of  Mr.  Adams  to  found  the  continu 
ance  of  the  Union  on  the  remorseless  and  hopeless  and  endless  servitude  of  an 
entire  race  of  men.  Mr.  Lincoln  did  not  believe  that  God  would  permit  the 
perpetuity  of  a  Union  founded  on  such  atrocious  wrong  and  crime.  In  view  of 
Mr.  Adams'  course  toward  Mr.  Lincoln  in  his  grave,  the  friends  of  Governor 
Hayes  will  estimate  his  criticism  of  that  honored  leader  and  true  man  at  precisely 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  l6/ 

its  just  value.  But  for  the  honor  of  New  England,  I  desire  to  say  that  of  all 
her  Representatives,  Mr.  Adams  stood  alone,  I  think,  in  supporting  this  infa 
mous  proposition.  Every  other  Massachusetts  Representative  was  opposed  to.it, 
including  the  Hon.  Alexander  H.  Rice,  the  present  Republican  Governor  of  that 
State,  and  candidate  for  re-election  against  Mr.  Adams.  Indeed,  from  all  New 
England,  as  I  have  said,  in  that  hour  of  supreme  trial,  no  other  Republican 
proved  false  to  her  principles  and  her  teachings  save  only  he  whose  inheritance 
should  have  made  him  the  foremost  defender  of  the  right.  And  after  Mr.  Adams 
had  made  this  fearful  offer  of  the  eternal  permanence  of  slavery  to  the  ranting 
Democratic  disunionists  of  the  South,  he  superadded  to  it,  in  a  formal  speech, 
the  intimation  that  if  it  was  not  acceptable  to  the  South,  he  might  himself  favor 
some  scheme  of  disunion,  if  it  could  be  of  a  peaceful  character.  And  now,  with 
this  record,  Mr.  Adams  naturalty  and  properly  supports  Tilden,  and  the  lengths 
he  would  go  to  conciliate  the  rebel  Democratic  element  may  be  inferred  from  the 
extent  to  which  he  was  willing  to  go  in  1861,  when  he  was  ready  and  eager,  on 
the  heels  of  a  National  Republican  victory,  to  concede  more  to  the  slave  interest 
than  its  extremes!  fire-eating  advocate  had  ever  demanded  in  Congress.  Imagine, 
if  you  can — tell  me,  if  you  will — one  possible  condition  the  South  would  impose 
on  the  legislation  of  Congress  that  Mr.  Adams  would  not  gladly  support — one 
possible  exaction  the  rebel  Democrats  could  make  that  Mr.  Adams  would  not 
gladly  concede?  Would  he  hesitate  at  anything  a  "solid  South"  would  de 
mand  ?  Would  he  interpose  his  influence  against  the  payment  of  any  amount 
of  rebel  claims  ?  Would  he,  I  ask,  in  all  sincerity,  ever  enter  a  word  against 
taking  the  right  of  suffrage  from  the  colored  men,  whose  hopeless  and  endless 
enslavement  he  so  lately  advocated  ?  When  Massachusetts  forgets  the  Repub 
lican  teachings  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  she  will  elect  his  son  Governor  of  the 
proud  old  commonwealth.  I  have  said  that  I  have  no  time  and  no  desire  for 
personalities.  If  I  had,  I  might  readily  indulge  myself  at  Mr.  Adams'  expense. 
The  personal  and  political  gossip  at  Washington,  in  1861,  was  busy  with  Mr. 
Adams'  name,  and  it  was  currently  said  that  he  obtained  the  mission  to  England 
in  a  manner  and  by  means  which  he  would  now  consign  to  oblivion,  and  which 
his  children  would  blush  to  have  repeated.  I  have  no  disposition  to  indulge  in 
that  line  of  gossip,  and  prefer  to  confine  my  criticisms  to  the  Adams'  record  on 
public  questions.  Nor  have  I  any  wish  to  comment  on  his  utter  disregard  of  the 
difference  of  principles  between  the  two  great  political  parties,  standing,  as  he 
has  for  years,  ready  to  accept  the  nomination  of  either.  Still  less  do  I  desire  to 
rehearse  the  assumed  belief  in  certain  quarters,  that  Mr.  Adams'  candidacy  of 
the  Democratic  party  was  the  result  of  a  regular  bargain  between  him  and  Mr. 
Tilden,  in  which  Mr.  Adams  agreed  to  give  the  respectability  of  his  name  to  the 
Democratic  party,  and  Mr.  Tilden  agreed,  if  elected,  to  make  Mr.  Adams  his 
Secretary  of  State.  I  have  no  taste  for  such  gossip,  and  I  only  refer  to  its  cur 
rency,  that  Mr.  Adams  may  be  reminded  that  he  lives  in  a  political  house  con 
taining  a  great  deal  of  glass,  and  that  he  may  not  with  impunity  throw  stones  at 
his  neighbors  nor  loosely  indulge  in  railing  accusations  against  those  who  con 
scientiously  maintain  as  high  a  standard  of  honor  as  he  preaches  himself,  and 
higher  perhaps  than  he  has  already  practised.  , 

An  incident  of  this  campaign  was  also  Mr.  Elaine's  utter 
ances  on  Southern  war  claims,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the 


1 68  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

Toledo  Blade.     The  force  and  character  of  this  letter  is  well 
worthy  of  close  study.     Wrote  the  distinguished  statesman : 

TOLEDO,  OHIO,  October  5,  1876. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Toledo  Blade  :     • 

I  observe  in  the  Cincinnati  Enquirer  of  yesterday,  a  letter  from  Bion  Brad 
bury,  Esq.,  an  attorney-at-law  of  Portland,  Maine,  in  regard  to  the  decision  made 
by  Judge  Clifford,  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  in  the  now  famous  Neal 
Dow  case.  Mr.  Bradbury  is  counsel  for  the  plaintiff  in  that  suit,  is  fully  com 
mitted  to  all  its  dangerous  doctrines,  and  is  well  known  in  Maine  as  one  of  the 
most  rancorous  and  uncompromising  partisan  Democrats.  He  is  a  fair  and  a  full 
type  of  the  men  whom  the  loyal  Republican  sentiment  of  the  North  will  have 
to  fight  to  the  bitter  end  on  all  questions  of  this  kind.  Only  two  or  three  points 
of  Mr.  Bradbury's  letter  require  my  attention,  and  I  am  compelled  to  write  "on 
the  wing,"  and  of  course  very  hastily. 

Mr.  Bradbury  intimates  that  I  have  had  in  my  possession,  ever  since  my  Bos 
ton  speech  of  September  i8th,  a  letter  from  Judge  Clark,  of  New  Hampshire, 
who  sat  with  Judge  Clifford  and  dissented  from  his  opinion.  The  inference  Mr. 
Bradbury  desires  the  public  to  draw  is  that  I  have  concealed  or  withheld  Judge 
Clark's  letter  all  that  time.  The  truth  is,  Judge  Clark's  letter  was  not  written 
until  September  22d,  mailed  the  23d,  and  has  been  following  me  from  point  to 
point,  and  finally  reached  me  at  Cincinnati  three  days  since.  The  letter  is  as 
follows,  and  I  give  it  verbatim  et  literatim. 

"  MANCHESTER,  N.  H.,  Sept.  22,  1876. 

"  MY  DEAR  MR.  ELAINE:  My  attention  has  been  called  to  a  passage  of  your 
speech  at  Boston,  in  which  you  refer  to  a  suit  against  Neal  Dow,  recently  heard 
by  Judge  Clifford  and  myself  at  Portland. 

"  Your  statement  of  the  case  is  substantially  correct,  and  forcibly  illustrates  the 
danger  to  be  apprehended  from  these  Southern  war-claims,  and  yet  it  may  do 
injustice  to  Judge  Clifford  by  leaving  an  impression  that  he  is  in  favor  of  paying 
such  claims.  I  hardly  think  this  is  so,  and  no  such  inference  can  be  drawn  from 
his  conduct  or  decision  in  this  case.  He  heard  the  case  in  the  first  instance  sit 
ting  alone.  Neither  Judge  Shepley  nor  Judge  Fox  could  sit  with  him.  He  had 
the  case  a  long  time  under  advisement,  it  presenting  a  question  of  great  national 
importance  and  of  fine  pleading.  He  did  not  wish  to  decide  it  alone,  and  it 
could  in  only  one  way  be  carried  to  the  Supreme  Court,  to  wit :  a  certificate  of 
difference  between  two  judges,  because  the  amount  being  about  $1700,  it  could 
not  go  up  on  writ  of  error.  To  enable  the  parties,  therefore  (if  they  wish),  to 
take  the  case  to  the  Supreme  Court,  he  sent  for  me  to  come  and  sit  with  him  and 
sign  the  certificate  of  difference,  as  I  did.  One  great  difficulty  in  the  case  is, 
General  Dow  let  a  judgment  go  by  default  in  a  court  recognized  by  Judge  Shep 
ley  while  military  governor  of  New  Orleans,  and  that  judgment  is  now  and  here. 
The  judgment  is  conclusive  if  the  court  had  jurisdiction,  and  the  court  was  one 
recognized  by  the  military  governor,  and  its  process  was  duly  served  on  General 
Dow.  The  case  is  one  of  difficulty,  and  I  am  quite  certain  Judge  Clifford  is  anx 
ious  it  should  be  decided  right. 

«  Yours  truly,  DANIEL  CLARK." 

It  will  be  observed  that  Judge  Clark  frankly  says  that  my  "  statement  of  the 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  169 

case  was  substantially  correct,"  and  further,  that  it  "forcibly  illustrates  the  dan 
ger  to  be  apprehended  from  the  Southern  war-claims."  These  remarks  by  Judge 
Clark  sufficiently  answer  Mr.  Bradbury's  ill-tempered,  ill-mannered,  untruthful 
assertions  respecting  the  main  point  at  issue.  I  am  not  responsible  for  the  report 
of  my  speech  at  Warren  as  quoted  by  Mr.  Bradbury.  I  never  saw  the  reporter's 
notes,  and  never  read  the  extract  quoted  by  Mr.  Bradbury  until  I  saw  it  in  his 
letter;  but  I  was  assuredly  reported  incorrectly.  I  certainly  never  dreamed  of 
calling  Judge  Clifford  "  a  hungry  Democrat."  I  am  too  familiar  with  the  judge's 
well-fed  and  portly  dimensions  to  apply  to  him  any  such  absurd  characterization. 
Neither  did  I  reflect  on  his  personal  or  official  integrity.  On  the  contrary,  I 
stated  that  one  of  the  most  alarming  features  of  the  decision  was  that  Judge  Clif 
ford  belonged  to  that  gnarled,  twisted,  ingrained,  incurable  school  of  Bourbon 
Democracy  that  honestly  believes  in  just  such  dangerous  and  destructive  doctrines 
as  are  covered  by  this  decision. 

Mr.  Bradbury  says  that  the  only  point  involved  in  Judge  Clifford's  decision 
was  the  question  of  jurisdiction  of  the  Louisiana  court.  Precisely.  The  Louisi 
ana  court  gave  judgment  against  a  colonel  of  the  Union  army  for  property  seized 
and  appropriated  by  a  foraging  squad  of  the  regiment.  Judgment  was  taken  by 
default,  Colonel  Dow  being  with  his  command  in  the  field  utterly  unable  to  re 
spond  to  a  summons,  and  certainly  not  dreaming  that  civil  suits  could  be 
brought  in  the  country  of  the  insurgents  against  officers  of  the  invading  army  of 
the  Union.  I  have  always  stated  the  case  with  accuracy,  and  neither  Judge  Clif 
ford  nor  Mr.  Bradbury  can  show  why  every  other  officer  of  the  Union  army  may 
not  in  like  manner  be  sued  for  all  the  property  which  his  command  may  have 
seized  and  appropriated  during  the  four  years  of  the  rebellion.  Judge  Clifford's 
decision  is  far  worse  than  if  it  sustained  a  suit  brought  since  the  war,  for  it  dis 
tinctly  recognizes,  if  it  does  not  positively  affirm,  that  while  the  war  was  actually 
going  on.,  flagrant*  hello,  an  officer  of  the  Union  army  was  bound,  at  whatever 
peril  it  might  be  to  the  Union  cause,  to  leave  his  command  when  summoned  by 
a  local  court  in  the  heart  of  the  rebellious  country.  And  Judge  Clifford,  without 
looking  at  the  facts  which  notoriously  surrounded  the  case  (nay,  shutting  his 
eyes  to  these  facts  when  it  required  a  great  effort  to  close  them),  recognizes  the 
jurisdiction  of  a  Louisiana  court  to  interfere  at  the  very  crisis  of  the  war  with  the 
operations  of  the  Union  army.  Judge  Clark  says  :  "  Judge  Clifford  has  had  the 
case  .a  long  time  under  advisement,  it  presenting  a  case  of  grave  national  im 
portance."  The  "long  time"  referred  to  by  Judge  Clark  covers  at  least  eight 
years  I  am  told.  It  is  not  for  me  to  say  that  Judge  Clifford  has  not  had  good 
reasons  for  withholding  his  opinions  this  "  long  time,"  but  it  cannot  fail  to  strike 
the  country  that  the  decision  is  promulgated  just  at  the  time  that  Judge  Clark 
thinks  there  is  "  danger  to  be  apprehended  from  these  Southern  war-claims."  I 
have  no  right  to  comment  on  Judge  Clifford's  motives,  and  do  not  assume  to  judge 
them,  but  I  have  a  perfect  right  to  discuss  the  mood  and  tense  of  his  remarkable 
opinion.  And  the  danger  concealed  under  that  opinion  is  greatly  enhanced  by 
the  reported  expressions  of  the  Democratic  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  that 
"  every  soldier  that  marched  across  Southern  soil  was  a  trespasser,  and  liable  to 
suit  for  damages  in  an  action  for  trespass."  Ex-Governor  Underwood,  of  Ver 
mont,  declares  that  Mr.  Tilden  made  this  identical  declaration  to  him  during  the 
war. 

The  dangers  to  which  I  call  attention,  as  exemplified  by  Judge  Clifford's  opin 
ion,  were  substantially  these : 


HON.    JAMES   G.    BLAINE. 

I.  That  an  army  officer  can  be  sued  and  compelled  by  judgment  of  court  to 
pay  for  property  seized  by  him  or  his  soldiers  at  the  South  during  the  war. 

II.  That  in  such  a  suit,  by  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  touching  cotton 
cases  before  the  Court  of  Claims,  no  proof  whatever  can  be  required  that  the 
plaintiff  was  not  a  rebel,  but  that  he  may  recover  without  such  proof. 

III.  That  such  a  suit  may  be  brought  and  judgment  recovered  in  any  Southern 
State  Court,  and  then  the  judgment  sued  in  a  United  States  Court  at  the  North, 
and  the  judgment  affirmed  and  the  officer  compelled  to  pay  by  the  process  of  the 
United  States  Court. 

No  answer  has  been  made  to  any  of  these  points  by  Mr.  Bradbury.  He  says 
that  Bradish  Johnson,  the  plaintiff,  was  in  fact  loyal,  but  he  does  not  assert  that 
any  such  fact  was  proved,  or  that  Judge  Clifford's  opinion  makes  any  distinction 
whatever  between  a  loyal  citizen  and  a  rebel.  And  this  point  illustrates  the  very 
danger  I  have  been  trying  to  point  out,  and  most  forcibly  presents  the  rapid 
progress  we  are  making  towards  paying  Southern  claims  regardless  of  the  loyalty 
of  the  claimant.  With  the  Republican  party  in  power  the  United  States  treasury 
is  safe  from  the  frightful  raid  now  impending  over  it.  But  what,  I  ask,  may  be 
apprehended  from  a  Democratic  Congress,  a  Democratic  President,  and  Demo 
cratic  judges? 

The  passage  of  one  short  law  covering  only  three  points  would  bankrupt  the 
United  States  government  and  destroy  our  public  credit.  Those  points  are : 

I.  That  no  proof  of  loyalty  shall  be  required  of  any  claimant  before  the  South 
ern  claims  commission,  now  in  session,  or  before  any  department  of  the  govern 
ment  other  than  that  required  by  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  in  suits  at  law, 
i.  e.,  no  proof  whatever. 

II.  That  the  statutes  of  limitation  shall  not  apply  in  case  of  any  war-claims 
otherwise  allowable  against  any  individual  or  against  the  United  States.     If  there 
be  any  question  of  law  about  the  power  to  revive  a  claim  against  an  individual 
once  barred  by  the  statute  of  limitations,  there  is  certainly  none  as  to  the  power 
of  the  government  to  revive  it  as  against  itself,  and  that  is  the  point  principally 
affecting  the  United  States  treasury  and  the  loyal  tax-payers  of  the  country. 

III.  That  "reasonable  compensation  may  be  recovered  by  all  citizens  of  the 
United  States  for  the  use  and  occupation  of  their  property  for  the  United  States 
army,  or  any  part  thereof,  during  the  late  civil  war;"  and  in  these  words  I  am 
but  quoting  the  language  of  a  bill  now  pending  in  the  U.  S.  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  introduced  by  a  Democrat  and  under  consideration  by  the  Democratic 
Judiciary  Committee,  to  whom  it  was  referred  in  February  lest,  and  who  did  not 
report  it  back  to  the  House,  but  held  it  for  consideration  until  after  the  Presiden 
tial  election.     Why  did  they  not  report  adversely  upon  it  promptly  and  decidedly  ? 
The  courteous  tone  in  which  Judge  Clark  refers  to  his  belief  in  Judge  Clifford's 
intentions  to  do  right  belongs  to  the  amenities  of  the  bench,  and  with  these  I  am 
not  dealing  at  present.     I  only  see  that  Judge  Clifford  did  not  agree  with  Judge 
(Mark,  and  end,  as  he  might  then  and  there,  all  dangerous  claims  of  this  charac 
ter.     I  only  see  that  Judge  Clifford's  great  influence  on  the  Supreme   Bench, 
based  on  his  long  service  and  his  learning  in  the  law,  has  all  been  thrown  on 
the  .Southern,  or  rebel,  side  of  this  mighty  question.     In  short,  in  the  very  lan 
guage  of  Judge  Clark,  I  only  see  that  the  case  "fully  illustrates  the  danger  to  l>e 
apprehended  from  these  Southern  war-claims."     And  seeing  these  things  and 
believing  these  things,  I  have  exposed  them  wherever  I  have  spoken,  and  shall 
continue  to  do  so  to  the  end  of  the  Presidential  campaign. 

Very  respectfully,  J.  G.  BLAINE. 


HON.   JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  171 

On  the  question  of  the  currency  and  its  relation  to  politics, 
Senator  Elaine  delivered  himself  at  Biddeford,  August  21, 
1878,  and  this  speech  accurately  defines  his  present  views. 
He  said : 

"  By  common  consent  the  currency  question  is  the  great 
question  before  the  people.  This  I  regret ;  because,  if  there 
is  one  thing  people  cannot  afford,  it  is  a  political  currency 
question.  Let  us  settle  it,  and  settle  it  right.  Let  us  review 
the  circumstances  that  brought  us  where  we  are  now.  In 
1 86 1  an  extra  session  of  Congress  was  called,  and  it  author 
izes  the  Treasurer  to  borrow  $400,000,000,  as  there  was  no 
money  in  the  Treasury.  Fifty  millions  of  demand-notes  were 
also  authorized,  and  when  Congress  assembled  after  the 
Christmas  holidays  they  assembled  with  an  empty  Treasury. 
In  this  particular  strait  the  Government  provided  for  an  issu 
ance  of  $150,000,000  of  legal-tender  notes.  That  was  a 
measure  of  absolute  necessity.  It  was  useless  to  stand  upon 
a  very  fine  drawn  point  at  such  a  time.  It  was  a  question  of 
life.  We  declared  the  notes  legal  tender.  Before  another 
year  had  expired  we  were  called  upon  to  issue  another 
$150,000,000,  and  when  Congress  assembled  in  December, 
1863,  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  brought  be 
fore  us  a  very  embarrassing  condition.  The  Government  was 
without  currency  again.  We  were  at  that  time  appealing  to 
every  civilized  nation  of  the  world  for  money.  Forty  or  fifty 
million  dollars  were  due  the  army,  and  ready  cash  was  de 
manded.  Out  of  this  state  of  affairs  came  the  Loan  Act, 
which  really  supplied  funds  which  were  necessary  for  the  sal 
vation  of  the  nation.  The  Loan  Act  had  not  only  authority 
of  law,  but  in  a  peculiar  and  strong  sense  it  is  binding  upon 
us.  In  this  act  was  a  proviso  as  follows :  '  That  the  total 
amount  of  those  notes  issued,  and  to  be  issued,  shall  never 
exceed  $400,000,000.'  It  was  the  price  which  in  extreme  ur 
gency  we  pledged  ourselves  to,  and  if  there  is  any  honor  in 
the  American  people  they  would  as  soon  sign  away  their 
birthright  as  violate  this  pledge.  The  most  fearful  thing  that 
could  happen  to  this  country  would  be  the  issuance  of  an  un- 


1/2  HON.   JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

limited  amount  of  currency.  How  are  you  going  to  contract 
the  currency?  You  want  Republican  money  or  Democratic 
money,  do  you  not  ? 

"  Whatever  else  the  American  people  do  with  currency,  let 
me  say  to  you  that  there  is  no  body  of  men  so  little  compe 
tent  to  determine  the  question  of  money  as  Congressmen.  I 
voted  in  Congress  for  the  Greenback  bill.  I  voted  that  green 
backs  should  not  be  contracted. 

"  Greenback  people  say  that  we  should  not  have  any 
banks.  For  seven  hundred  years  we  have  had  banks,  and  we 
cou-ld  not  conduct  the  business  of  the  country  for  a  minute 
without  banks.  Why  are  banks  a  necessity  ?  A  bank  is  a 
place  where  the  borrower  of  money  meets  the  lender ;  where 
surplus  money  is  deposited.  Suppose  a  man  wants  to  borrow 
$10,000  to  go  into  business.  Greenbackers  would  send  him 
all  over  the  country  borrowing  $50  here  and  $50  there.  There 
are  at  the  present  time  three  bills  in  Congress  for  '  resurrect 
ing  '  the  State  Banks.  New  England  enjoyed,  under  the  old 
system,  the  best  banks  in  the  country,  but  they  owed  their 
reputation  to  the  personal  integrity  of  the  men  who  stood 
behind  the  counter,  fhe  speaker  aptly  illustrated  the  weak 
ness  of  the  system  by  referring  to  the  Lumberman's  Bank, 
which  might  be  said  to  have  been  owned  by  the  present 
Greenback  candidate  for  Governor.  This  bank  had  a  capital 
of  $50,000,  but  at  one  time  had  on  hand  unsigned  bills  to  the 
amount  of  $165,000,  which  would  be  signed  as  fast  as  any 
body  wanted  them.  In  fact,  the  old  system  of  banking  was 
based  upon  the  personal  notes  of  the  stockholders.  If  you 
will  have  banks,  then  what  kind  will  you  have — responsible 
or  irresponsible  ?  National  Banks  are  perfectly  free  for  every 
man  to  engage  in  with  just  one  little  condition  that  the  Gov 
ernment  insists  upon — that  you  shall  not  issue  any  bills  until 
you  have  put  into  the  United  States  Treasury  an  account 
equal  to  ten  per  cent,  additional  to  protect  the  bill-holders. 

"  If  you  hold  a  National  bank  bill  you  don't  care  whether 
the  bank  is  burst  or  not.  In  regard  to  taxing  bonds  Green- 
backers  say  '  here  is  an  exempted  class.'  The  only  man  in 
the  United  States  who  pays  absolutely  full  tax  on  his  property 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  173 

is  the  holder  of  Government  bonds ;  for  instance :  A  invests 
$10,000  in  Government  4  per  cents.;  B  invests  an  equal 
amount  in  Maine  State  6s,  and  C  invests  a  like  amount  in 
Maine  Central  7  per  cents.  In  the  first  case  the  investor  in 
Government  bonds  pays  his  taxes  in  advance,  but  in  the  case 
of  the  other  bonds,  is  it  within  your  experience  that  holders 
thereof  flock  to  the  assessor's  office  asking  to  be  taxed? 
Facts  show  that  but  a  very  small  portion  of  the  bonds  are 
taxed.  It  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  for  your  brother 
in  California  to  own  them,  or  your  uncle  in  some  other  part 
of  the  country.  Then  why  delude  yourselves  with  the  idea 
that  if  you  tax  Government  bonds  they  would  be  any  more 
likely  to  turn  up  for  taxation  than  these  State  or  railroad 
bonds  ?  If  you  succeed  in  taxing  bonds  you  merely  place 
upon  your  shoulders  an  additional  burden  of  $40,000,000. 
Government  bonds  never  could  nor  never  should  be  taxed. 
There  are  five  kinds  of  money  that  the  United  States  stands 
sponsor  for :  gold  and  silver — and  gold  is  better  than  silver. 
Moses,  in  the  second  chapter  of  Genesis,  tells  us  '  that  gold  is 
good;'  and  it  makes  no  difference  whether  it  is  stamped  by 
the  United  States  or  Venezuela.  Then  there  is  the  old-fash 
ioned,  war-honored,  patriotic  greenback,  that  did  such  great 
work,  that  says  the  United  States  will  pay  $10,  or  as  it  may 
be,  reserving  to  the  United  States  when  they  would  pay.  In 
1875  it  did  say  when  they  would  pay,  viz.:  January  I,  1879. 
The  advance  school  of  Greenbackers,  represented  by  General 
Butler,  don't  want  this  kind  of  greenback  at  all.  They  want 
another  kind.  They  don't  want  anything  stamped  with 
'promise  to  pay.'  They  want  this  greenback  to  say,  'this  is 
$10,'  or  any  sum.  Such  talk  is  merely  nonsense.  Why  not 
say, 'this  is  horse/ why  not  make  it  $1,000?  It  takes  no 
more  paper  or  time  to  print  it,  but  it  is  not  so  with  gold. 
The  next  government  money  is  National  Bank  bills,  and 
lastly  the  silver  certificates. 

"  We  fancied  during  the  Greenback  craze  that  we  were  all 
getting  rich.  In  1873  we  found  out  we  had  been  buying 
$800,000,000  more  than  we  were  selling.  There  is  nothing 
so  mysterious  about  National  finances.  The  same  principles 


174  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

are  involved  in  private  finances.  If  a  farmer  is  buying  more 
than  he  is  selling  from  his  farm,  he  is  growing  poorer ;  but  if 
he  is  selling  more  than  he  is  buying,  he  is  getting  richer.  This 
idea  holds  good  with  the  trade  of  the  country.  Now  things 
are  changed.  We  are  buying  less  abroad,  and  have  a  balance 
in  our  favor  of  $630,000,000.  No  people  in  the  world  are  so 
able  to  maintain  a  specie  basis  as  the  United  States,  if  they 
say  they  will.  We  are  just  in  sight  of  the  day  of  redemption. 
We  can  look  right  into  the  promised  land,  but  Greenbackers 
say,  '  Don't  go  in.  Come,  now,  and  wander  with  -us  for  years 
more.'  You  depreciate  your  currency,  and  you  might  as 
well  by  one  shock  of  mighty  power  paralyze  capital  from  one 
end  of  the  country  to  the  other.  You  reduce  the  country 
from  that  of  a  great  commercial  people  to  a  beggarly  small 
retail  affair.  The  things  which  this  day  frighten  men  are  wild 
schemes  of  finance.  What  the  United  States  needs  in  this 
matter  is  a  large  amount  of '  let-alone-ativeness.'  You  cannot 
keep  this  currency  as  a  political  foot-ball.  You  cannot  settle 
this  question  until  you  settle  it  right." 

In  the  fall  of  1879  he  addressed  the  New  York  merchants 
in  the  Cooper  Institute  upon  the  topic  so  especially  dear  to  his 
heart — the  Republican  party.  His  speech  then  is  an  admirable 
sample  of  a  political  oration : 

"  Mr.  Chairman — It  is  a  healthful  and  encouraging  sign  in 
the  politics  of  the  country,  when  the  merchants  and  business 
men  of  the  great  commercial  emporium  of  the  Nation  see  fit, 
in  their  distinctive  character,  to  take  part  on  the  Republican 
side.  I  thank  them  for  the  honor  of  being  permitted  to 
address  them.  But  I  shall  not  apologize  because  this  is  a 
mere  State  election.  The  Democrats  have  been  busy  in  the 
last  month  issuing  pronunciamentos  warning  off  all  outsiders 
from  taking  any  part  in  this  contest.  Having  a  disturbance  in 
their  own  happy  family,  and  having  summoned  the  National 
Committee  of  the  Democratic  party,  embracing  one  man  from 
every  State  in  the  Union,  and  then  having  summoned  the 


HON.   JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  '75 

Hon.  Benjamin  Hill,  of  Georgia,  as  generalissimo  in  the  great 
task  of  composing  the  Democratic  troubles  of  the  New  York 
Democracy,  in  order  that  they  might  get  into  line  for  the 
great  national  contest  next  year — but  these  consultations  over 
all  the  States  and  Territories  in  the  Union  having  utterly  failed 
to  produce  an  adjustment,  it  then  occurred  to  The  New  York 
World,  and  other  organs  of  the  Democratic  party,  that  this 
was  purely  a  State  contest,  involving  something  about  your 
canals  and  the  rate  of  taxation  which  the  County  Supervisors 
shall  levy.  Well,  if  it  were  only  that  I  should  not  be  here. 
When  Voltaire  visited  Congreve,  the  English  poet  said  to  him 
that  he  preferred  to  be  visited  as  an  English  gentleman,  and 
the  French  wit  replied  to  him,  that  as  an  English  gentleman 
he  should  not  have  paid  the  slightest  attention  to  him  in  the 
world.  And  I  am  very  frank  to  say  that  if  the  question 
before  the  people  of  New  York  was  the  rate  of  taxation  to  be 
levied  by  your  County  Supervisors,  or  the  amount  of  cheese 
paring  which  had  been  affected,  or  the  money  that  had  been 
saved  under  the  administration  of  Governor  Robinson,  I 
should  not  be  here.  But  this  election  has  a  far  wider  and  far 
greater  and  a  far  grander  significance.  And  I  beg  you,  not 
only  in  the  specific  instance  of  New  York,  but  generally  do 
observe  whenever  a  hard-pressed  or  an  assistant  Democrat 
like  Lucius  Robinson,  of  New  York,  or  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  of 
Massachusetts,  gets  into  a  tight  place,  they  are  always  sure  to 
make  loud  proclamation  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  world 
involved  but  a  little  penny-whistle  State  issue,  and  they  warn 
the  people  not  to  take  part  in  the  issue  at  all. 

"  The  Republican  party  are  dealing  with  weighty  things. 
They  remember  that  in  the  Congressional  elections  of  last 
year,  the  Democratic  party  throughout  the  country,  in  combi 
nation  with  the  Greenback  party,  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder 
in  opposition  to  the  resumption  of  specie  payments.  They 
remember  that  both  those  parties  proclaimed  specie  payment 
on  the  ist  of  January,  1879,  as  an  impossibility.  They  re 
member  that  they  not  only  proclaimed  it  as  an  impossibility, 
but  they  said  that  the  Republicans  who  were  advocating  it 
knew  it  to  be  an  impossibility,  and  were  engaged  in  a  gigantic 
ii 


176  HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

conspiracy  to  deceive  the  people.  And  thus  the  contest  of 
1878  closed.  The  ancient  monarch  said,  '  Time  and  I  against 
the  world.'  And  so  the  Republicans  had  nothing  to  do  but 
to  wait,  and  in  the  revolving  seasons  the  first  day  of  January 
was  reached.  The  first  day  of  January  was  reached  in  the 
year  of  grace  1879,  and  then  against  all  the  predictions  of  the 
enemies  of  the  Republican  party,  on  that  great  day,  forever 
memorable  in  the  financial  history  of  America,  on  that,  great 
day  the  $700,000,000  of  paper  money  in  the  United  States,  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  without  commotion,  or  disturbance,  or 
excitement,  was  raised  to  par  with  coin.  And  there  it  will 
remain  until  long  after  the  death  of  the  great-grandchild  of 
the  youngest  person  here  present.  And  this  generation  are 
permitted  to  see  what  no  other  generation  of  Americans  ever 
saw,  what  no  other  generation  of  Americans  ever  dared  to 
hope  for,  a  paper  currency  good  everywhere,  the  same  every 
where,  good  in  thirty-eight 'States  and  nine  Territories,  over 
3,000,000  square  miles  of  area,  among  47,000,000  of  people, 
and  good  far  out  and  beyond  that,  good  in  distant  nations  and 
far-off  continents ;  for  while  we  are  here  discussing  political 
issues  which  involve,  in  a  certain  sense,  the  approval  of  the 
return  of  specie  payments,  while  we  are  here  debating  and 
discussing,  the  Greenback  dollar  of  the  United  States  and  the 
National  bank  dollar  alike  are  the  representatives  of  coin 
wherever  commerce  extends  or  civilization  is  known.  You 
can  pass  them  in  Liverpool,  in  London,  in  Paris,  in  Vienna,  in 
St.  Petersburg,  in  Cairo,  in  Bombay,  in  Hong  Kong,  in  Hono 
lulu,  in  Melbourne,  on  all  continents  and  on  all  islands ;  and 
to-night  the  limit  of  the  circulation  and  the  credit  of  the  paper 
money  of  the  United  States  is  only  that  for  which  the  pious 
old  deacon,  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  the  monthly  concert 
of  prayer  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  prayed — that  the  glad 
tidings  of  salvation  might  be  carried  to  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth,  even  to  those  desolate  regions  where  the  foot  of 
man  never  trod  and  which  the  eye  of  man  never  saw. 

"And  now  there  is  not  in  the  United  States  a  party  that  could 
rise  up  to  destroy  the  Resumption  Act.  There  is  not  a  party 
in  the  United  States  of  sufficient  respectability  in  point  of 


HON    JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  177 

strength  to  carry  a  single  county  that  will  incorporate  in  its 
platform  the  repeal  of  the  Resumption  Act.  You  may  fill  a 
Congress  with  Benjamin  F.  Butlers  and  Samuel  J.  Tildens 
and  Solon  Chases — taking  them  in  a  descending  scale — and 
they  won't  dare  repeal  the  Resumption  Act !  You  can't  make 
a  Congress  of  the  United  States  to-day,  selected  outside  of  a 
lunatic  asylum,  that  would  repeal  the  Resumption  Act,  and 
if  one  Congress  should  be  found  that  would  do  it,  the  people 
of  the  United  States  would  rise  up  with  one  voice  and  send 
them  inside  the  lunatic  asylum  pretty  quickly.  Therefore,  on 
that  great  issue,  the  strong  initial  point,  the  conclusion,  really, 
of  the  whole  controversy,  the  Republican  party  stands  to-day 
vindicated  and  triumphant.  And  all  these  opinions,  too,  on 
the  financial  question,  simply  nibble  round  the  edges,  and  take 
up  some  subordinate  issue,  and  try  to  excite  prejudice,  and 
mislead  the  people  by  misstatement  of  fact.  And  with  great 
unanimity,  eminent  men  and  men  who  are  not  eminent — Sena 
tors  and  men  so  little  eminent  I  shall  not  mention  them — 
jump  with  singular  unanimity  upon  the  bait,  and  hold  up  the 
Republican  party  as  guilty  of  the  error,  or  rather  crime,  of 
establishing  a  system  of  banks  in  this  country,  which  are  at 
war  with  the  principles  of  justice  and  with  the  interests  of  the 
people.  Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  quite  willing  to  admit — 
and  I  am  not  going  to  inflict  a  discussion  on  banking  upon 
you — I  am  quite  willing  to  admit  whatever  defect — if  defect 
there  be — exists  in  the  national  banking  system,  which  is 
chargeable  upon  the  Republican  party.  I  only  ask  for  a  fair 
debtor  and  creditor  account  on  the  political  ledger,  and  that 
whatever  of  merit  there  may  be  there  shall  be  carried  to  our 
account. 

"  When  the  war  broke  out  we  had  thirty-three  kinds  of 
paper  currency  in  this  country,  with  the  Territories  to  hear 
from.  Some  was  bad,  some  was  good,  and  a  good  deal  was 
indifferent.  In  New  York  you  had  a  good  paper  currency. 
It  was  secured  under  a  certain  form  and  was  in  a  certain  meas 
ure  the  forerunner  of  the  national  system.  We  thought  we 
had  a  good  system  of  currency  in  New  England,  which  we 
called  the  Suffolk  banking  system.  We  thought  we  enjoyed 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

one  down  in  Maine,  and  yet  regularly — with  a  periodicity 
which  beat  the  return  of  the  equinoctial  storm — these  banks 
would  turn  out  defunct.  I  remember  as  if  it  were  yesterday, 
on  a  pleasant  morning  in  1858,  a  large  bank  in  Maine,  known 
as  the  Shipbuilders'.  Bank,  was  announced  as  failed  with 
$357,000  circulation  out — and  it  is  out  yet.  There  was  that 
good  thing  about  the  old  State  Bank,  when  it  failed  it  made  a 
clean  bang-up.  You  remember  before  the  war  there  was  a 
story  current  in  the  papers  of  a  celebrated  coroner's  inquest 
held  on  the  body  of  a  negro  boy  in  Mississippi.  They  quit 
holding  coroner's  inquests  on  negroes  down  there  now — but 
then  they  had  value.  Well,  they  had  the  coroner's  inquest 
on  the  negro  boy,  who  was  found  dead  in  a  swamp,  though 
all  that  was  left  of  him  was  his  skin.  After  hearing  testimony 
for  three  days  they  unanimously  returned  a  verdict  of  '  found 
empty.'  And  that  was  the  verdict  on  all  the  old  State  banks. 
And  every  twenty  years  from  the  time  Washington  was  in 
augurated  down  to  the  time  of  Lincoln,  every  twenty  years 
the  State  bank  circulation  in  this  country  was  completely  lost, 
and  it  wasn't  the  banks  that  lost  it  either.  It  was  the  bill- 
holders  among  the  people. 

"Andrew  Jackson  goes  down  to  history  for  his  uncom 
promising  resistance  to,  and  his  ultimate  destruction  of  a 
great  monopoly  known  as  the  United  States  Bank.  Whatever 
politics  I  have  I  inherited  from  the  Whig  side  of  the  house, 
and  yet  I  believe  in  the  impartial  verdict  of  history — that  the 
American  people  believe  to-day,  and  will  still  more  come  to 
believe,  that  in  that  contest  between  Jackson  and  the  United 
States  Bank,  Jackson  was  right  and  the  Whigs  were  wrong ; 
on  this  simple  ground,  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
ought  not  and  should  not  have  given  to  one  set  of  men  any 
particular  privilege  of  banking  over  and  above  any  other  set 
of  men.  And  therefore  Jackson  crushed  it.  But  the  time  had 
not  arrived,  the  opportunity  had  not  yet  come  for  Jackson  to 
seize  the  old  State  banks. 

"  It  would  be  a  rash  man  who  would  say  that  Jackson  did 
not  have  the  courage  to  seixe  that  system.  He  had  courage 
enough  for  anything,  but  the  time  had  not  then  come.  And 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  1/9 

there  never  did  come  a  time  when  courage  and  opportunity 
fell  together  until  the  Republican  party  came  into  power ;  and 
the  Republican  party  was  the  first  party  that  ever  had  the 
courage  to  take  hold  of  the  State  bank  system  by  the  nape  of 
the  neck  and  hold  it  over  the  gulf  of  financial  perdition,  and 
let  it  drop  down  into  it.  But  they  did.  They  said  hereafter 
in  this  country  there  should  be  no  special  charter ;  they  said 
that  hereafter  in  this  country  whatever  money  there  was 
should  be  National,  that  it  should  not  be  limited  or  circum 
scribed  by  State  lines.  In  the  olden  times  I  could  not  have 
traveled  through  ten  States,  as  I  have  done,  without  having 
to  change  my  money  ten  times.  Why,  if  any  man  had  ap 
peared  down  in  Maine  before  the  war  and  brought  a  bill  from 
the  State  of  Ohio  or  Illinois,  to  a  merchant,  the  first  thing  he 
would  have  done  would  have  been  to  look  at  his  counterfeit 
detector,  and  then  straightway  send  for  a  policeman  on  the 
evident  presumption  that  the  man  had  been  either  engaged  in 
robbing  a  bank  or  uttering  counterfeit  money. 

"  But  the  Republican  party  put  an  end  to  that.  They  said 
that  money  should  be  National,  and  when  they  came  to  es 
tablish  a  banking  system,  they  said  that  two  things  should 
distinguish  it.  In  the  first  place  it  should  be  just  as  free 
to  one  man  in  the  United  States  as  to  any  other,  and  no  man 
should  have  a  particle  of  advantage  over  any  other  man.  I 
made  this  statement  in  a  public  meeting  a  little  while  ago, 
and  a  Greenbacker  said,  '  Well ' — he  jumped  up  in  the  audi 
ence,  as  the  Greenbackers  used  to  do  very  lively  before  the 
election — '  Well,'  said  he,  '  you  cannot  bank  without  the 
bonds.'  Said  I,  '  Does  that  constitute  a  monopoly  in  national 
banking  ? '  '  Certainly,'  he  replied,  '  you  confine  it  to  the 
fellows  that  have  the  bonds.'  I  said, '  Did  it  ever  occur  to 
you  that  farming  was  a  monopoly  ?  '  '  Certainly  not.'  '  Well, 
but  it  is  entirely  confined  to  the  fellows  who  have  the  ground. 
You  cannot  farm  in  a  balloon  or  out  at  sea  in  a  boat.' 

"  The  Republican  party  said  that  banks  should  be  open  to  all 
alike,  and  to  all  on  the  same  terms ;  and  then  the  Republican 
party,  speaking  through  the  instrumentality  of  National  legis 
lation,  said  this  one  great  thing — that  while  banking  should 


180  HON.    JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

be  open  to  everybody  on  precisely  the  same  terms,  nobody 
should  issue  a  solitary  dollar  of  circulating  money  until  they 
had  put  up  United  States  bonds  for  every  dollar  bill,  and  then 
they  might  go,  if  they  chose,  and  destroy  their  bank,  they 
might  go  and  misconduct  themselves,  and  when  they  did,  and 
their  banks,  in  the  strong  language  of  the  '  boys/  were  '  bust,' 
the  United  States  should  step  forward  and  sell  their  bonds, 
and  take  care  of  the  innocent  third  party,  which  is  the  public. 
And  from  that  day,  Mr.  Chairman,  and  I  beg  your  attention 
to  this  as  a  merchant  of  New  York — from  that  day  there  has 
been  no  bad  money  in  the  United  States." 

Turning  aside  from  the  exciting  questions  of  a  political 
campaign,  I  may  be  pardoned  a  moment  if  I  introduce  a 
speech  from  the  stump,  so  to  speak,  though  it  was  not  deliv 
ered  for  stumping  or  political  purposes.  It  is  an  example, 
happy  in  conception  and  delivery,  of  Mr.  Elaine's  style  in 
orations  of  this  character;  important  often  in  their  results, 
yet  most  generally  considered  by  orators  of  no  particular 
moment : 

"I  am  addressing,"  said  Mr.  Elaine,  "an  agricultural  com 
munity;  during  all  the  depression  of  trade  and  commerce  and 
manufactures  prevailing  for  these  past  five  years  you  have 
steadily  progressed  in  comfort,  independence,  and  wealth. 
While  those  elsewhere  have  lacked  employment,  and  many  I 
fear  have  lacked  bread,  no  able-bodied  man  in  Minnesota  has 
been  without  remunerative  labor,  and  no  one  has  gone  to  bed 
hungry.  Your  pursuits  and  their  results  form  the  basis  of  the 
ideal  Republic — happily,  indeed,  realized  within  your  own 
borders.  The  tendency  of  all  your  industry  is  towards  the 
accumulation  of  independent  competency,  and  does  not  favor 
the  upbuilding  of  colossal  fortunes ;  you  are  dealing  daily 
with  the  essential  things  of  life,  and  are  not  warped  in  your 
judgments  nor  deflected  from  your  course  by  speculative  and 
illusory  schemes  gf  advancement  and  gain;  you  are  land- 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  l8l 

owners  and  freeholders,  a  proud  title  that  comes  to  us  with 
centuries  of  civilization  and  strength — a  title  that  every  man 
in  this  country  should  make  it  his  object  to  acquire  and  to 
honor.  Self-government  among  the  owners  of  the  soil  in 
America  is  an  instinct,  and  where  that  ownership  is  widely 
distributed  good  government  is  the  rule.  Whatever  disturb 
ance,  therefore,  may  threaten  the  peace  and  order  of  society, 
whatever  wild  theories  transplanted  from  other  climes  may 
seek  foothold  here,  the  Republic  of  the  United  States  rests  on 
that  basis  of  agriculture  which  the  farmers  of  the  Revolution 
and  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  placed  it.  The  man  who 
possesses  broad  acres  which  he  has  earned  by  the  sweat  of  his 
brow  is  not  apt  to  fall  in  with  the  doctrines  of  the  communist 
that  no  one  has  a  right  to  the  ownership  of  the  soil ;  the  man 
who  has  the  profit  of  his  labor  in  wheat  and  in  corn,  in  pork 
and  in  beef,  in  hides  and  in  wool,  commanding  gold  and  silver 
as  they  always  have  and  always  will  in  the  markets  of  the 
world,  is  not  to  be  led  astray  with  theories  of  fiat  paper  and 
absolute  money,  but  instinctively  consigns  such  wild  vagaries 
to  the  proper  dimensions  of  fiat  folly  and  absolute  nonsense. 

"The  farmers  of  the  Republic  will  control  its  destiny. 
Agriculture,  commerce,  and  manufactures  are  the  three  pursuits 
that  enrich  a  nation ;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  agriculture, 
for  without  its  progress  the  spindle  cannot  turn  and  the  ship 
will  not  sail.  Agriculture  furnishes  the  conservative  element 
in  society,  and  in  the  end  is  the  guiding,  restraining,  and  con 
trolling  force  in  Government  against  the  storms  of  public  fury, 
against  frenzy  that  seeks  collision  with  established  order, 
against  theories  of  administration  that  have  drenched  other 
lands  with  blood,  against  the  spirit  of  anarchy  that  would 
sweep  away  the  landmarks  and  safeguards  of  Christian  society 
and  republican  government.  The  farmers  of  the  United 
States  will  stand  as  a  shield  and  a  bulwark — themselves  the 
willing  subjects  of  the  law,  and,  therefore,  its  safest  and 
strongest  administrators." 


CHAPTER   X. 

BLAINE  AS  A  HISTORIAN — His  ABILITY  WITH  THE  PEN — His  MAGAZINE 
WORK — His  SUMMARY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  CONFLICT — THE  CHARACTER  OF 
BUCHANAN — THE  NEI;RO — PEN- PORTRAITS  OF  STANTON  AND  SHERMAN. 

NO  man  with  the  gift  of  utterance,  no  matter  what  his  in 
clinations  may  be,  can  ever  confine  himself  to  the 
forum  or  the  platform.  The  desire  for  expression,  when  well 
developed,  is  generally  paramount.  A  nature  so  filled  that  it 
seeks  every  source  of  legitimate  expression  will  never  neglect 
the  newspaper. 

That  a  literary  career  was  congenial  to  Mr.  Blaine  we  have 
seen  in  the  earlier  pages  of  this  book.  That  he  was  eminently 
fitted  to  adorn  such  a  career  was  equally  demonstrated  by  the 
examples  of  what  he  did,  there  printed.  He  was,  early  in  his 
career,  a  contributor  to  the  press,  then  an  editor ;  and  then 
occasionally,  during  his  Congressional  career,  he  branched  off 
to  furnish  something  from  his  pen  that  bore  upon  the  ques 
tions  of  the  day  from  the  exalted  sphere  of  the  printing-press. 

The  editor  of  the  North  American  Review,  in  the  spring  of 
1879,  one  of  the  chief  years  in  recent  times  for  the  heat  of 
political  discussion,  invited  the  Senator  from  Maine,  the  Sen 
ator  from  Mississippi,  L.  Q.  C.  Lamar,  Gov.  Wade  Hampton, 
of  South  Carolina,  Congressman  J.  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio, 
Alexander  Stephens  of  Georgia,  Wendell  Phillips,  Montgom 
ery  Blair,  and  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  to  discuss  the  question 

"  Ought  the  Negro  to  be  disenfranchised  ?     Ought  he  to  have 
(182) 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  183 

been  franchisee!  ?  "  The  views  of  these  gentlemen  appeared  in 
the  issue  for  March,  and  Mr.  Blaine  led  the  debate  as  follows : 

"  I  have  been  distinguished  as  the  special  Champion  of  the 
Negro's  Rights,  by  many  who  have  devoted  their  lives  to  re 
dressing  the  Negro's  wrongs.  The  questions  owe  their  origin 
not  to  any  coloring  of  Philanthropic  interests,  not  to  any  Rad 
ical  views  about  Universal  Suffrage,  but  to  the  fact  that  in  the 
judgment  of  many  of  those  hitherto  accounted  the  wisest, 
Negro  Suffrage  has  failed  to  attain  the  ends  hoped  for  when  the 
franchise  was  conferred,  failed  as  a  means  of  more  completely 
securing  the  Negro's  civil  rights  ;  failed  to  bring  him  the  consid 
eration  which  generally  attaches  to  power;  failed  in  the  gen 
eral  opinion  except  to  increase  the  political  weight  and  influ 
ence  of  those  against  whom  and  in  spite  of  whom  his  enfran 
chisement  was  secured. 

"Those  who  have  reached  this  conclusion  and  those  who  are 
tending  towards  it  argue  that  the  important  franchise  was 
prematurely  bestowed  on  the  Negro.  That  its  possession 
necessarily  placed  him  in  inharmonious  relations  with  the 
white  race.  That  the  excitement  incident  to  its  free  enjoyment 
hinders  him  from  progress  in  the  rudimental  and  essential 
branches  of  education,  and  that  advance  in  material  wealth 
is  thus  delayed  and  obstructed  and  that  obstacles  which  would 
not  otherwise  exist  continually  accumulate  in  his  path,  render 
ing  his  progress  impossible  and  his  oppression  inevitable.  In 
other  words  that  Suffrage  in  the  hands  of  the  Negro  is  a 
challenge  to  the  white  race  for  a  contest  in  which  he  is  sure  to 
be  overcome,  and  that  the  withdrawal  of  the  franchise  would 
remove  all  conflict,  restore  kindly  relations  between  the  races, 
place  the  whites  on  their  proper  and  honorable  responsibility, 
and  assure  to  each  race  the  just  prosperity  attainable  under 
the  Government  where  both  are  compelled  to  live. 

"The  class  of  men  whose  views  are  thus  hastily  summarized 
did  not  contemplate  the  withdrawal  of  the  suffrage  from  the 
Negro,  without  a  corresponding  reduction  in  the  representation 
in  Congress  of  the  States  where  the  Negro  is  a  large  fac 
tor  in  the  apportionment.  And  yet  it  is  quite  probable  that 
they  have  not  given  thought  to  the  difficulty  or  rather  impos- 


1 84  HON.    JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

sibility  of  compassing  that  end.  Under  the  Constitution  as  it 
is  now  construed,  the  diminution  of  representative  strength 
could  only  result  from  the  States  passing  such  laws  as  would 
disfranchise  the  Negro  by  some  educational  or  property  test, 
as  it  is  forbidden  by  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  to  disfranchise 
him  on  account  of  his  race.  But  no  Southern  State  will  do 
this  and  for  two  reasons :  first,  they  will  in  no  event  consent 
to  a  reduction  of  representative  strength.  And  second,  theyf 
cannot  make  any  disfranchisement  of  the  Negro  that  would  i 
not  at  some  time  disfranchise  an  immense  number  of  the 
whites. 

"  Quite  another  class — mostly  residents  in  the  South  but  with 
numerous  sympathizers  in  the  North — would  be  glad  to  have 
the  Negro  disfranchised  on  totally  different  grounds.  Born 
and  reared  with  the  belief  that  the  Negro  is  inferior  to  the 
white  man  in  everything,  it  is  hard  for  the  class  who  were 
masters  at  the  South  to  endure  any  face  or  form  of  equality 
on  the  part  of  the  Negro.  Instinct  gives  reason  and  with  the 
masses  of  the  Southern  people  the  aversion  to  equality  is  in 
stinctive  and  ineradicable.  The  general  conclusion  of  this  class 
would  be  to  deprive  the  Negro  of  voting,  if  it  could  be  done 
without  impairing  the  representation  of  their  States,  but  not 
to  make  any  move  in  that  direction  so  long  as  the  diminished 
power  in  Congress  is  constitutional,  the  logical  result  of  a 
denial  or  abridgment  of  suffrage.  In  the  meanwhile,  seeing 
no  mode  equitable  of  depriving  the  Negro  of  his  suffrage,  ex 
cept  with  the  unwelcome  penalty  to  themselves,  the  Southern 
States  as  a  whole — differing  in  degree  but  with  the  same  effect 
— have  striven  to  attain  by  indirect  and  unlawful  means  what 
they  could  not  attain  by  direct  and  lawful.  They  have,  so  far 
as  possible,  made  Negro  suffrage  of  no  effect.  They  have 
done  this  against  law  and  against  justice.  Having  stated  the 
position  of  both  classes  on  this  question,  I  will  venture  to  give 
my  own  views  in  a  series  of  statements  in  which  I  will  en 
deavor  to  embody  both  argument  and  conclusion. 

"  First.  The  two  classes  I  have  nan\ed  contemplating  the 
possible  or  desirable  disfranchisement  of  the  Negro  from  en 
tirely  different  standpoints  and  with  entirely  different  aims,  are 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  185 

both  equally  in  the  wrong.  The  first  is  radically  in  error  in  sup 
posing  that  a  disfranchisement  would  put  him  in  the  way  of  any 
development  or  progress  that  would  in  time  fit  him  for  suffrage. 
He  would,  instead,  grow  more  and  more  unfit  for  it  every  day 
from  the  time  the  first  backward  step  should  be  taken,  and  he 
would  relapse  if  not  into  actual  chattel  slavery  yet  into  -such  a 
dependent  and  defenceless  condition  as  would  result  in  only 
another  form  of  servitude.  For  the  ballot  to-day,  imperfectly 
enjoyed  as  it  is  by  the  Negro,  its  freedom  illegally  curtailed, 
its  independence  ruthlessly  marred,  its  purity  defiled,  is  with 
all  and  after  all,  a  race  as  against  the  form  of  servitude  which 
would  have  all  the  cruelty  and  none  of  the  alleviation  of  the 
old  slave  system  whose  destruction  carried  with  it  the  shed 
ding  of  so  much  innocent  blood.  The  second  class  is  wrong 
in  anticipating  even  the  remotest  possibility  of  securing  the 
legal  disfranchisement  of  the  Negro  without  a  reduction  of 
representation,  but  for  the  clause  regulating  the  representation 
in  the  I4th  Amendment  of  the  Constitution,  we  should  to-day 
have  a  South  wholly  under  the  control  and  legally  under  the 
control  of  those  who  rebelled  against  the  Union  and  sought 
to  erect  the  Confederate  Government — enjoying  full  represen 
tation  by  reason  of  the  Negro  being  counted  in  the  apportion 
ment  without  a  pretense  of  suffrage  being  conceded  to  the 
race.  The  I4th  Amendment  was  designed  to  prevent  this, 
and  if  it  does  not  succeed  in  preventing  it,  it  is  because  of 
evasion  and  violation  of  its  express  provisions  and  its  clear 
intent.  Those  who  erected  the  Confederate  government  may 
be  in  exclusive  possession  of  power  throughout  the  South, 
but  they  are  not  so  fairly  or  legally ;  they  will  not  be  permitted 
to  continue  in  the  enjoyment  of  political  power  unjustly 
seized — and  seized  in  derogation  and  in  defiance  of  the  rights 
not  merely  of  the  Negro,  but  of  the  whites  in  all  other  sec 
tions  of  the  country.  Injustice  cannot  stand  before  the  ex 
posure  and  argument  and  the  force  of  public  opinion ;  and  no 
more  safer  weapons  of  defence  will  be  required  against  the 
wrong  which  now  afflicts  the  South,  and  it  is  a  scandal  to  the 
whole  country. 

"  Second.  But  while  discussing  the  question  of  disfranchis- 


1 86  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

ing  the  Negro  and  settling  its  justice  or  expediency  according 
to  our  discretion,  it  may  be  worth  while  to  look  at  its  imprac 
ticability,  or  to  state  it  still  more  strongly,  its  impossibility, 
Logicians  attach  weight  to  arguments  drawn  ab  inconvenicnti, 
Arguments  must  be  still  more  cogent  and  conclusions  still 
more  decisive  when  drawn  ab  impossibili.  The  Negro  is  se 
cured  against  disfranchisement  by  two  Constitutional  Amend 
ments,  and  he  cannot  be  remanded  to  the  non-voting  class 
until  both  these  amendments  are  annulled.  And  these  amend 
ments  cannot  be  annulled  until  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  and 
two-thirds  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  shall  propose,  and  a  majority  of  the  Legislatures  or  Con 
ventions  of  twenty-nine  States  shall  by  affirmative  vote  approve 
the  annulments.  In  other  words  the  Negro  cannot  be  dis 
franchised  so  long  as  one  vote  more  than  one-third  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  or  one  vote  more  than  one-third  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  shall  be  recorded  against  it ;  and  if 
these  securities  and  safe-guards  should  give  way,  then  disfran 
chisement  could  not  be  effected  so  long  as  a  majority  in  one 
branch  in  the  Legislature  of  only  ten  States  should  refuse  to 
assent  to  it  and  refuse  the  assent  of  a  Convention  to  which  it 
may  be  referred.  No  human  right  on  this  Continent  is  more 
completely  guaranteed  than  the  right  against  disfranchisement 
on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude  as 
embodied  in  the  1 5th  Amendment  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States. 

"  Third.  In  the  enforcement  and  elucidation  of  my  second 
point,  it  is  of  interest  to  discern  the  rapid  advance  and  devel 
opment  of  public  sentiment  in  regard  to  the  rights  of  the 
Negro  as  expressed  in  the  last  three  Amendments  of  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States. 

5  "In  1865  Congress  submitted  the  1 3th  Amendment  which 
'  merely  gave  the  Negro  freedom  without  suffrage,  civil  rights  or 
citizenship.  In  1866  the  I4th  Amendment  was  submitted  de 
claring  the  Negro  to  be  a  citizen  but  not  forbidding  the  States 
withholding  suffrage  from  them — yet  inducing  them  to  grant  it 
by  the  provision  that  representation  in  Congress  should  be  re 
duced  in  proportion  to  the  exclusion  of  male  citizens  of  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  to  vote,  except  for  rebellion  or  other  crimes. 


HON.   JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  l8/ 

In  1869  the  decisive  step  was  taken  of  declaring  '  that  the  right 
of  citizens  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  abridged  by  the 
United  States  or  by  any  State  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  pre 
vious  condition  of  servitude.'  The  most  important  provision  in 
this  Amendment  is  the  inhibition  upon  the  '  United  States ' 
as  well  as  upon  any  '  State ; '  for  it  would  not  be  among  the 
impossible  results  of  a  great  political  Revolution  resting  on 
prejudice  and  grasping  for  power,  that  in  the  absence  of  this 
express  inaction  the  United  States  might  assume  or  usurp  the 
right  to  deprive  the  Negro  of  suffrage,  and  then  the  States 
would  not  be  subject  to  the  forfeiture  of  representation  as  pro 
vided  in  the  I4th  Amendment,  as  the  result  of  the  denial  or 
abridgment  of  the  suffrage  by  State  authority.  In  this  stately 
progression  of  organic  enactments,  the  law  of  a  great  people 
is  embodied,  and  its  reversal  would  be  one  of  those  revolutions 
which  would  convulse  social  order  and  endanger  the  authority 
of  the  law. 

"  There  will  be  no  step  backward,  but  under  the  provision 
which  specially  confers  on  Congress  to  enforce  each  amend 
ment  by  '  proper  legislation,  '  there  will  be  from  time  to  time 
fitful  purposes  and  yet  certainly  a  restraining  and  caring  of 
national  authority. 

"Fourth.  I  have  already  hinted  that  there  will  be  no  attempt 
made  in  the  Southern  States  to  disfranchise  the  negro  by  any 
of  those  methods  which  would  still  be  within  the  power  of  the 
States.  There  is  no  Southern  State  that  would  venture  on  an 
educational  qualification,  because  by  the  last  census  there  were 
more  than  one  million  of  white  persons  over  fifteen  years  in  the 
States  lately  slaveholding  who  cannot  read,  and  a  still  larger 
number  who  could  not  write  their  names.  There  was,  of 
course,  a  still  greater  number  of  negroes  of  the  same  ages  who 
could  not  read  or  write,  but  in  the  nine  years  that  have  inter 
vened  since  the  census  was  taken,  there  has  been  a  much 
greater  advance  in  the  education  of  the  negroes  than  in  the 
education  of  the  poor  whites  of  the  South,  and  to-day  on  aa 
educational  qualification,  it  is  quite  probable  that  while  the 
proportion  would  be  in  favor  of  the  whites,  the  absolute  ex 
clusion  of  the  whites  in  some  of  the  States  would  be  nearly  as 


1 88  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

great  as  that  of  the  negroes.  Nor  would  a  property  test  oper 
ate  with  any  great  advantage  to  the  whites.  The  slave  States 
always  had  a  large  class  of  very  poor  and  entirely  uneducated 
whites,  and  any  qualification  of  property  that  would  seriously 
diminish  the  negro  vote  would  also  cut  off  a  very  large  num 
ber  of  whites  from  the  suffrage. 

"  Thus  far  I  have  directed  my  arguments  to  the  first  question 
propounded  :  '  Ought  the  negro  to  be  disfranchised  ?  ' 

"  The  second  interrogatory :  '  Ought  he  to  have  been  en 
franchised?'  is  not  practical  but  speculative,  and  yet  unless  it 
can  be  answered  in  the  affirmative  the  moral  tenure  of  his  suf 
frage  is  weakened,  and  as  a  consequence  his  legal  right  to 
enjoy  is  impaired. 

"  For  myself,  I  answer  the  second  question  in  the  affirm 
ative  with  as  little  hesitation  as  I  answer  the  first  in  the  nega 
tive,  and  if  the  question  was  again  submitted  to  the  judgment 
of  Congress,  I  would  vote  for  suffrage  in  the  light  of  experi 
ence  with  more  confidence  than  I  voted  for  it  in  the  light  of  an 
experiment.  Had  the  franchise  not  been  bestowed  upon  the 
negro  as  his  shield  and  weapon  of  defense,  the  demand  upon 
the  general  government  to  interfere  for  his  protection  would 
have  been  constant  and  irritating  and  embarrassing.  Great 
complaint  has  been  made  for  years  past  of  the  government's 
interference  merely  to  secure  to  the  colored  citizen  his  plainest 
constitutional  right.  But  this  intervention  has  been  trifling 
compared  to  that  which  would  have  been  required  if  we  had 
not  given  suffrage  to  the  negro.  In  the  reconstruction  exper 
iment  under  President  Johnson's  plan,  before  the  negro  was 
enfranchised  it  was  clearly  foreshadowed  that  he  was  to  be 
dealt  with  as  one  having  no  rights  except  such  as  the  whites 
should  choose  to  grant.  The  negro  was  to  work  great  labor 
laws ;  freedom  of  movement  and  transit  was  to  be  denied  him 
by  the  operation  of  vagrant  laws  ;  liberty  to  sell  his  time  and 
skill  at  their  market  value  was  to  be  restrained  by  apprentice 
laws ;  and  the  slavery  that  was  abolished  by  the  Constitution 
of  the  nation  was  to  be  revived  by  the  enactments  of  the  States. 
To  counteract  this  and  all  like  efforts  at  re-enslavement,  the 
national  authority  would  have  been  constantly  invoked.  In- 


HON.    JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  189 

terference  in  the  most  positive  and  peremptory  manner  would 
lave  been  demanded,  and  angry  conflicts  and  possible  resist^ 
ance  to  law  would  have  resulted.  The  one  sure  mode  to 
remand  the  States  that  rebelled  against  the  Union  to  their 
autonomy  was  to  give  suffrage  to  the  negro,  and  that  autonomy 
will  be  complete,  absolute,  whenever  the  rights  that  are 
guaranteed  by  the  Constitution  of  the  Republic  shall  be  en 
joyed  in  every  State — as  the  administration  of  justice  was 
assured  in  Magna  Charta — '  promptly  and  without  delay ; 
freely  and  without  sale ;  completely  and  without  denial.'  " 

This  article  belongs  properly  to  the  domain  of  political 
questions,  and  in  turning  from  it  to  Mr.  Blaine's  book, 
"  Twenty  Years  of  Congress,"  we  come  at  once  to  a  para- 
mount  illustration  of  his  talent  for  a  literary  career. 
/Mr.  Elaine  was  eminently  fitted  to  write  a  history.  His 
minute  and  magnificent  memory  of  facts,  dates,  events,  and 
men  of  history,  is  not  only  remarkable  but  almost  unprece 
dented.  In  his  college  days  he  was  noted  for  his  love  of  the 
study  of  history.  Therefore,  it  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
when  fate  released  him  for  a  breathing  spell  from  the  ardor  of 
a  tremendously  active  political  life,  he  should  turn  with  ex 
ceeding  pleasure  to  the  joys  and  peace  of  the  pen.  His  book, 
"Twenty  Years  of  Congress,"  has  already  reached  a  wide  cir 
cle  of  readers.  It  is  in  no  sense  a  party  manifesto ;  it  is  a 
careful  narrative,  popular  but  not  undignified  in  style,  and 
remarkably  fair  and  moderate  in  tone.  He  has  expressed  a 
decided  opinion  on  all  the  issues  involved  in  the  civil  war,  but 
he  is  able  to  appreciate  the  argument  and  respect  the  motives 
of  those  whom  he  holds  to  have  been  most  widely  mistaken. 
A  great  charm  is  thrown  over  the  volume  from  the  fact 
that  the  events  therein  portrayed  for  more  than  two-thirds  of 
the  entire  work  were  close  at  hand  to  Mr.  Elaine ;  indeed,  it 
may  be  said, 

"  All  of  which  he  saw  and  part  of  which  he  was." 


190  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

The  book  has  been  well  received  not  only  here  but  abroad. 
The  London  Times  says  of  it :  "It  is  a  fair,  valuable  and 
powerful  volume.  In  dealing  with  the  characters  of  the  states 
men  of  the  past,  and  especially  with  Clay  and  Calhoun,  he  is, 
we  think,  particularly  happy.  In  dealing  with  his  own  con 
temporaries,  he  is,  naturally  enough,  somewhat  too  uniformly 
civil ;  but  his  connection  with  politics,  on  the  whole,  is  an  ad 
vantage  to  the  book.  He  has  been  an  active  and  trusted 
member  of  the  Republican  party  from  its  formation,  and  he 
has  drawn  from  his  own  recollections  many  interesting  touches 
of  description." 

My  readers  will  hold  a  better  view  than  that  of  the  London 
Times.  Let  us  taste  this  refreshing  volume.  Open  it  any 
where.  Here  is  a  pen-picture  of  the  abolitionists  : 

"  While  encountering,  on  these  issues,  the  active  hostility  of 
the  great  mass  of  the  people  in  all  sections  of  the  Union,  the 
Abolitionists  challenged  the  respect  of  thinking  men,  and 
even  compelled  the  admiration  of  some  of  their  most  pro 
nounced  opponents.  The  party  was  small  in  number,  but  its 
membership  was  distinguished  for  intellectual  ability,  for  high 
character,  for  pure  philanthropy,  for  unquailing  courage  both 
moral  and  physical,  and  for  a  controversial  talent  which  has 
never  been  excelled  in  the  history  of  moral  reforms.  It 
would  not  be  practicable  to  give  the  names  of  all  who  were 
conspicuous  in  this  great  struggle,  but  the  mention  of  James 
G.  Birney,  of  Benjamin  Lundy,  of  Arthur  Tappan,  of  the 
brothers  Lovejoy,  of  Gerrit  Smith,  of  John  G.  Whittier,  of 
William  Lloyd  Garrison,  of  Wendell  Phillips,  and  of  Gamaliel 
Bailey,  will  indicate  the  class  who  are  entitled  to  be  held  in 
remembrance  so  long  as  the  possession  of  great  mental  and 
moral  attributes  gives  enduring  and  honorable  fame.  Nor 
would  the  list  of  bold  and  powerful  agitators  be  complete  or  just 
if  confined  to  the  white  race.  Among  the  colored  men — often 
denied  the  simplest  rights  of  citizenship  in  the  States  where 
they  resided — were  found  many  who  had  received  the  rift  of 


HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  19! 

tongues,  orators  by  nature,  who  bravely  presented  the  wrongs 
and  upheld  the  rights  of  the  oppressed.  Among  these  Fred 
erick  Douglass  was  especially  and  richly  endowed  not  only 
with  the  strength  but  with  the  graces  of  speech  ;  and  for  many 
years,  from  the  stump  and  from  the  platform,  he  exerted  a 
wide  and  beneficent  influence  upon  popular  opinion. 

"  In  the  early  days  of  this  agitation,  the  Abolitionists  were 
a  proscribed  and  persecuted  class,  denounced  with  unsparing 
severity  by  both  the  great  political  parties,  condemned  by 
many  of  the  leading  churches,  libeled  in  the  public  press,  and 
maltreated  by  furious  mobs.  In  no  part  of  the  country  did 
they  constitute  more  than  a  handful  of  the  population,  but 
they  worked  against  every  discouragement  with  a  zeal  and 
firmness  which  bespoke  intensity  of  moral  conviction.  They 
were  in  large  degree  recruited  from  the  Society  of  Friends,  who 
brought  to  the  support  of  the  organization  the  same  calm  and 
consistent  courage  which  had  always  distinguished  them  in  up 
holding  before  the  world  their  peculiar  tenets  of  religious  faith. 
Caring  nothing  for  prejudice,  meeting  opprobrium  with  silence, 
shaming  the  authors  of  violence  by  meek  non-resistance,  re 
lying  on  moral  agencies  alone,  appealing  simply  to  the  reason 
and  the  conscience  of  men,  they  arrested  the  attention  of  the 
nation  by  arraigning  it  before  the  public  opinion  of  the  world, 
and  proclaiming  its  responsibility  to  the  judgment  of  God." 

Is  this  not  fidelity  to  what  they  were  and  suffered  ? 

It  is  but  natural  that  Henry  Clay  should  receive  at  the 
hands  of  Historian  Blaine  a  full  meed  of  justice.  In  Henry 
Clay  James  Gillespie  Blaine  found  his  model  and  the  type  of 
his  idolatry  among  men.  The  two  are  much  alike,  they  pos 
sess  many  qualities  in  common.  Let  us  see  how  the  latter 
models  the  former: 

"  No  contest  for  the  Presidency,  either  before  or  since,  has 
been  conducted  with  such  intense  energy  and  such  deep  feel 
ing.  Mr.  Clay's  followers  were  not  ordinary  political  sup 
porters.  They  had  the  profound  personal  attachment  which 

12 


hj  •  HON.  JAMES  G     IM  MM 

is  looked  for  only  m  hereditary  governments,  where  loyalty 

becomes  *  passion,  and    is    l>hnd    and    UUUM  .<>nm  ad 

herence  .md  «i  -  devotion,     Tin*  logical  complement  of  such 

.n  dent  fidelity  i  •  an  opposition  ni.u  i.f.  I  l>y  un  „  i  npnloii-,  i.un  OTi 
Tin.  '  i  •  pioved  no  exception.  '1  IP-  love  of  Mr.  Clay's 
hi.-nd.  was  equaled  by  the  hatred  o|  In.  Iocs.  The  /  -al  of 
In  ,  luppoiten  did  not  surpass  the  zeal  of  his  opponents.  All 
the  enmities  and  exaspeiahons  which  l>e;.;.m  in  tlie  menioi.ible 
conte.t  for  the  Presidency  when  John  (Jmncy  Ad. mis 
chosen,  .md  h.ul  j'.mwn  into  great  proportions  during  the  long 
mtei  vi -n  in;.-,  p  M  iod,  u'.Me  I<M  i- I  it  .  .1  it  « >n  t  he  ati;;ry  Held  ol  iS  ).[. 
Mi.  Polk.  .1  moderate  and  amiable  man,  did  not  rcpn- •- Mil  the 
.u  i  1 1  ih  MI  ion  -  chaiacter  of  the  contn  IVefSy,  1  Ie  '-tood  onl 

the  passive  representative  of  iti  prinrii>ii-s.     n-hind  him  was 

J.i«  '  d  .md  intii  m  in  hody,  hut  strong  in  mind,  and  un- 

liroU-Mi  m   -pint.      \Vith  him  the   itrilggle  was  not  only  ODC  "t 

principle, but o(  pride;  not  merely  01  judgment, but  oi  t -m 

pel  ,    ami    he    i  .iinmnmi 'ated    to    the    le-ions   throiiidiont    the 

count  iv,  who  regarded  him  writh  reverence  and  gratitude,  a  full 
measure  oi  his  own  animosity  .!•.;. mist  Clay.  In  its;. 

the  st  i  u;.;  ;le  al)  ..>il).-d  (lie  t  hi  ni;;lil .  tin*  a«  tioii,  the  j>  i  ;sion,  of 
the  whole  people.  When  it  ,  iv  ailt  wa  .  known,  the  Win-.; 

i  -d  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Clay,  not  only  as  a  calamity  of 
untold  magnitude  to  the  country,  luil  a.  a  pM  .oiial  and  pm- 
lound  '.uel.  which  touched  the  h-Mit  as  deeply  as  the  undei 

standing      it   was   fackson'a  imal  triumph  over  Clay.    The 

lion  n    i  \e  1  Old  h  M  months  alter  tin  J  en  'Wiling 

ilion  ..I    hi.  hfe. 

"  l-'.n    twenty  ye.u  s  the.(-  t  u  o  ;;i«-it.  l)ia\'e    men    headed   the 
opjio.in.;    political    foices  «.f    the    I1!!!"!!        \\'hoevci     im-dit    be 

candidates,  they   wort    the    a.tual    leaders       John    Quincy 

Alain.   \\a.  more   le.nned  than  either;    Mi    v.  was 

and  in  ipeech;    ('alh«>nn   more  acute,  refined, 
an  1  plnlo  ...pine  ;    Vanl'.men   hetler   skilled  in  combining  and 

tliiei  tni'.[  poht i,  a  1  forces ;  i>nt  to  IK.  one  ot  these  was  given  the 

snMime  attiilmte  of  l-adei  Jnp.  the  faculty  o|  diauin;  men 
unto  him.  That  is  natural,  not  ac'jiiired  fhere  was  not  in 
the  Whole  COUntiy,  during  the  lon^  pMiodol  th-Mi  nvalry,  a 


MON,    I  IMES  G    r.i  \INK.  h>  • 

i.  •  id-en  ni  Intelligence  \vim  \\-.\-.  m.iiii.ient  t.>  <  i.i\  <>i  i,. 

|.i.  k'.oll.  |''o|  llic  "lie  \Vll1x  Mil  i|lialllli  alloii,  .l;;.im  I  III.  olll<  i 
\\  'Mlii  >ul  ic-. i  i  v.i  1 1«  «ii.  u.r.  III.-  i  ill.-  ni  i  live.  1 1  >i  i  It  1 111 1  I  lie  Mm  I  lii -i  M 
ino-.t  ln\vir.lii|»  nl  N.  u  1'ii'daml  to  the  month.  ..|  (he  MIV.I-. 
Mppi  llolh  leader,  li. id  tin  lii^ln  .1  .  ..m.e'i  ,  |,li\  lira]  .ui.l 

inoi.il,   in  n|ii.il   .I.  "M  r         <    I. iv    li.-lil   ill.     ,i,|\  .ml. I*;.     ,.|    i.,,.     .  I.. 

tpieme;  i.ui  J.K  K'.on  li. ui  .1  -.|ii.  n. h. i  military  record,  which 

spoke  i"  ili>    IK  .u  i  .  « -I   I  li<    | u «>ple  more  effectively  lli.m  Wordl 
emliei  •.    lui    l\\i  ni\    \'.u  •   "I    Hi'-    same    |>.niv.   tin  \   dill.  i<<! 

•lightly,  1 1  -it  .ill.  in  p'  ill  HI  .il  |  u  UK  1 1  ill--.  \\  1 1.  n  i  in-  <  i.i  ii<  ••.!  I.,  .'.in  , 

Inii  Jackson  enjoyed  the  prestige  of  a  more  linral  hcirihlp  to 
lip-  •  r<  i-il  oi  J.-n.-i  ...n.  M.iilr.oM,  .UK!  Monroe;  wlnl.  <  l.i\  ,  l,\ 
his  imprudence  m  !••  •«  "mm;;  Secretary  of  State,  im  mi.  I  no( 
onl\'  the  odiinii  ol  ili<*  'bargain  and  sale/  but  a  share  of  the 

j;cii«-i.il   iiii|io|Mil.ii  i!\-   wliu  li  .il   lli.il   linn-  .illat  hcd  to  tlu    n.imc 
"I   Adams        II    is  iml    m   irlio  ,|i. •«  I    dilln  nil   to  m<  .1  .m.    lli<    .i.l 
Vantages  \\lii.  li    |.i.  Usoii    possessed  m  thr  lotip;  ((inte.-.l,  .m.l  |,» 
clearly  I  In-  reasons  ol  In  .  lm.il  1 1  mmpli  over  tli<    boldest  ol 
leaders,  the  ii"M.  •  .1  "I  !••<••..      Still  less  is  i  I  diflicull  lo  sei    \\»\\ 

l,ni;cl\      tin-     p.  i  .ility     of    the    two    men     enteied     ml..     III. 

slni};(de,  .md  h.>\\  m  Hie  <  ml  Hi-  « -II-  '  I  upmi  tin  p<>litn  I  .m<l 
piospeiily  ol  (he  i  "iinli  y  would  have  been  neail\  lh<  sami 
had  the  winner  and  the  lo-.ei  <  \.  li,m;;ed  plates  In  cat  hoi 
111- -m  p  iti  I'llr.ni  w.is  .1  p.iv.i"ii.  1  lu-re  lievei  was  .1  momriil 
Hi  n  prolonged  emmiy  and  then  i. m.  "i"i i  ,  .  ..ni.  its  when 
a  ie.il  d.ni';ei  In  Ihe  i  "imh\-  \v«mld  ii"l  h.ive  unit'  -I  Mi-  m  .1 

heartily  as  in  i^-i  •.  when  Clay  in  the  iion-.e  .md  |.n  i. « 

i.-  li    M  <  <>  <ip. -i. iled  m  <|.  I.  ii'lm  ;    the    nation. il    IKUIOI    .i;;.mr.l 
-i  ;  ".i'     ;ion  ;  of  ( I  re;  it  lirilain." 

And  later  on  he  «  "iihasts  Mr.  Clay  and  Mi.  \V<  I.  i    i 

"A1,  il  i..  emphasize  the  disaster  to  Ihe  Whig  'li  (  l.i\- 
.iinl  Mi.  VVeb-.lei  li..lh  died  dmim;  the  (.m\.r..  ,  Mi  <  l.iv  m 
Jmie,  .1  |,-w  <l.i\",  alter  Seotl's  nomm.it  n  HI,  Mi  WcbitCI  m 

<  >.  toliei;  ,i  |,-\v  days  before  his  d-  I-  .ii        I  h-  \   h.id  l."ih   hv  d 

loll".    e||,  ticdi     to    •,(•(•    tile     V\  "I  I.     "I     I  he||      |  mill  |i      I  I     |||e     |||||.      |  ||e,|     || 

nol   destroyed.      'l'he\-  hn I  li>-ld  ih--  same  lelalion  I"  lln    \\  hi" 
th.il    the  eldei     Ad.mr,    and    I  I  .inn  II  <>n    h.id    he|«  I  t  < »  |  he    |'i<|ii 


194  HON-    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

alists,  that  Jefferson  and  Madison  had  held  to  the  Republicans. 
Comparison  between  them  could  not  be  fairly  made,  their 
inherent  qualities  and  personal  characteristics  differed  so 
widely.  Each  was  superior  to  the  other  in  certain  traits,  and 
in  our  public  annals  thus  far  each  stands  unequaled  in  his 
sphere.  Their  points  of  contrast  were  salient  and  numerous. 
Mr.  Clay  was  born  in  Virginia.  Mr.  Webster  was  born  in 
New  England.  Mr.  Clay  was  a  devoted  follower  of  Jefferson. 
Mr.  Webster  was  bred  in  the  school  of  Hamilton.  Mr.  Clay 
was  an  earnest  advocate  of  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain. 
Mr.  Webster  was  its  steady  opponent.  Mr.  Clay  supported 
Madison  in  1812  with  great  energy.  Mr.  Webster  threw  all 
his  strength  for  De  Witt  Clinton.  Mr.  Clay  was  from  the  first 
deeply  imbued  with  the  doctrine  of  protection.  Mr.  Webster 
entered  public  life  a  pronounced  free-trader.  They  were  not 
members  of  the  same  political  organization  until  after  the 
destruction  of  the  old  Federal  party  to  which  Mr.  Webster 
belonged,  and  the  hopeless  divisions  of  the  old  Republican 
party  to  which  Mr.  Clay  belonged.  They  gradually  harmon 
ized  towards  the  close  of  Monroe's  second  term,  and  became 
firmly  united  under  the  administration  of  John  Quincy  Adams. 
Modern  political  designations  had  their  origin  in  the  Presi 
dential  election  of  1824.  The  candidates  all  belonged  to  the 
party  of  Jefferson,  which  had  been  called  Democratic-Republi 
can.  In  the  new  divisions,  the  followers  of  Jackson  toolc  the 
name  of  Democrats :  the  supporters  of  Adams  called  them 
selves  National  Republicans.  They  had  thus  divided  the  old 
name,  each  claiming  the  inheritance.  The  unpopularity  of 
Mr.  Adams'  administration  had  destroyed  the  prospects  of 
t\\2  National-Republican  party,  and  the  name  was  soon  dis 
placed  by  the  new  and  more  acceptable  title  of  Whig.  To  the 
joint  efforts  of  Mr.  Clay  and  Mr.  Webster  more  than  to  all 
others  the  formation  of  the  Whig  party  was  due.  It  was  not, 
however,  in  Mr.  Webster's  nature  to  become  a  partisan  chief. 
Mr.  Clay  on  the  other  hand  was  naturally  and  inevitably  a 
leader.  In  all  the  discussions  of  the  Senate  in  which  consti 
tutional  questions  were  involved,  Mr.  Clay  instinctively  de 
ferred  to  Mr.  Webster.  In  the  parliamentary  debates  which 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  195 

concerned  the  position  of  parties  and  the  fate  of  measures, 
which  enchained  the  Senate  and  led  captive  the  people,  Mr. 
Clay  \va.s/aci/e  princeps.  Mr.  Webster  argued  the  principle. 
Mr.  Clay  embodied  it  in  a  statute.  Mr.  Webster's  speeches 
are  still  read  with  interest  and  studied  with  profit.  Mr.  Clay's 
speeches  swayed  listening  senates  and  moved  multitudes,  but 
reading  them  is  a  disappointment.  Between  the  two  the  differ 
ence  is  much  the  same  as  that  between  Burke  and  Charles 
James  Fox.  Fox  was  the  parliamentary  debater  of  England,  the 
consummate  leader  of  his  party.  His  speeches,  always  listened 
to  and  cheered  by  a  crowded  House  of  Commons,  perished 
with  their  delivery.  Burke  could  never  command  a  body  of 
followers,  but  his  parliamentary  orations  form  brilliant  and 
permanent  chapters  in  the  political  literature  of  two  conti 
nents. 

"  While  Mr.  Webster's  name  is  so  honorably  perpetuated  by 
his  elaborate  and  masterly  discussion  of  great  principles  in  the 
Senate,  he  did  not  connect  himself  with  a  single  historic  meas 
ure.  While  Mr.  Clay's  speeches  remain  unread,  his  memory 
is  lastingly  identified  with  issues  that  are  still  vital  and  pow 
erful.  He  advanced  the  doctrine  of  protection  to  the  stately 
dignity  of  the  American  system.  Discarding  theories  and 
overthrowing  the  dogma  of  strict  construction,  he  committed 
the  general  government  irrevocably  to  internal  improvements. 
Condemning  the  worthless  system  of  paper  money  imposed 
upon  the  people  by  irresponsible  State  banks,  he  stood  firmly 
for  a  national  currency,  and  he  foreshadowed  if  he  did  not 
reach  the  paper  money  which  is  based  to-day  on  the  credit 
and  the  strength  of  the  government. 

"  Mr.  Clay  possessed  extraordinary  sagacity  in  public  affairs, 
seeing  and  foreseeing  where  others  were  blinded  by  ignorance 
or  prejudice.  He  was  a  statesman  by  intuition,  finding  a 
remedy  before  others  could  discover  the  disease.  His  con 
temporaries  appreciated  his  rare  endowments.  On  the  day 
of  his  first  entrance  into  the  House  of  Representatives  he  was 
chosen  Speaker,  though  but  thirty-four  years  of  age.  This 
was  all  the  more  remarkable  because  the  House  was  filled 
with  men  of  recognized  ability,  who  had  been  long  in  the 


196  HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

public  service.  It  was  rendered  ^still  more  striking  by  the 
fact  that  Mr.  Clay  was  from  the  far  West,  from  one  of  the 
only  two  States  whose  frontiers  reached  the  Mississippi.  In 
the  entire  House  there  were  only  fifteen  members  from  the 
Western  side  of  the  Alleghenies.  He  was  re-elected  Speaker 
in  every  Congress  so  long  as  he  served  as  representative.  He 
entered  the  Senate  at  thirty,  and  died  a  member  of  it  in  his 
seventy-sixth  year.  He  began  his  career  in  that  body  during 
the  Presidency  of  Jefferson  in  1806,  and  closed  it  under  the 
Presidency  of  Fillmore  in  1852.  Other  Senators  have  served 
a  longer  time  than  Mr.  Clay,  but  he  alone  at  periods  so  widely 
separated.  Other  men  have  excelled  him  in  specific  powers, 
but  in  the  rare  combination  of  qualities  which  constitute  at 
once  the  matchless  leader  of  party  and  the  statesman  of  con 
summate  ability  and  inexhaustible  resource,  he  has  never  been 
surpassed  by  any  man  speaking  the  English  tongue." 

What  an  exact  view  of  what  so  many  have  often  felt  but 
lacked  the  exact  words  to  utter !  All  through  this  delightful 
volume  are  scattered  pen-miniatures  of  great  people.  So 
delicately  are  they  drawn  and  colored  that  I  cannot  help  in 
troducing  some  of  them  here.  For  instance  here  is  "  old 
Buck  "  true  to  the  life : 

"  In  a  final  analysis  and  true  estimate  of  Mr.  Buchanan's 
conduct  in  the  first  stages  of  the  revolt,  the  condition  of  the 
popular  mind  as  just  described  must  be  taken  into  account. 
The  same  influences  and  expectations  that  wrought  upon  the 
people  were  working  also  upon  him.  There  were  indeed  two 
Mr.  Buchanans  in  the  closing  months  of  the  administration. 
The  first  was  Mr.  Buchanan  of  November  and  December, 
angered  by  the  decision  of  the  Presidential  election  and  more 
than  willing  that  the  North,  including  his  own  State,  should 
be  disciplined  by  fright  to  more  conservative  views  and  to  a 
stricter  observance  of  what  he  considered  solemn  obligations 
imposed  by  the  Constitution.  If  the  Southern  threat  of  re 
sistance  to  the  authority  of  the  Union  had  gone  no  further 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  \gj 

than  this,  Mr.  Buchanan  would  have  been  readily  reconciled 
to  its  temporary  violence,  and  would  probably  have  considered 
it  a  national  blessing  in  disguise.  The  second  was  Mr. 
Buchanan  of  January  and  February,  appalled  by  surrounding 
and  increasing  perils,  grieved  by  the  conduct  of  Southern  men 
whom  he  had  implicitly  trusted,  overwhelmed  by  the  realiza 
tion  of  the  evils  which  had  obviously  followed  his  official 
declarations,  hoping  earnestly  for  the  safety  of  the  Union,  and 
^et  more  disturbed  and  harrowed  in  his  mind  than  the  mass 
of  loyal  people  who  did  not  stand  so  near  the  danger  as  he, 
or  so  accurately  measure  its  alarming  growth.  The  President 
of  December  with  Cobb  and  Floyd  and  Thompson  in  his 
cabinet,  and  the  President  of  January  with  Dix  and  Stanton 
and  Holt  for  his  councilors,  were  radically  different  men.  No 
true  estimate  *of  Mr.  Buchanan  in  the  crisis  of  his  public 
career  can  ever  be  reached  if  this  vital  distinction  be  over 
looked. 

"  It  was  Mr.  Buchanan's  misfortune  to  be  called  to  act  in  an 
emergency  which  demanded  will,  fortitude  and  moral  cour 
age.  In  these  qualities  he  was  deficient.  He  did  not  possess 
the  executive  faculty.  His  life  had  been  principally  devoted 
to  the  practice  of  law  in  the  most  peaceful  of  communities, 
and  to  service  in  legislative  bodies  where  he  was  borne  along 
by  the  force  of  association.  He  had  not  been  trained  to 
prompt  decision,  had  not  been  accustomed  to  exercise  com 
mand.  He  was  cautious  and  conservative  to  the  point  of 
timidity.  He  possessed  ability  of  a  high  order,  and,  though 
he  thought  slowly,  he  could  master  the  most  difficult  subject 
with  comprehensive  power.  His  service  of  ten  years  in  the 
House  and  an  equal  period  in  the  Senate  was  marked  by  a 
conscientious  devotion  "to  duty.  He  did  not  rank  with  the 
ablest  members  of  either  body,  but  always  bore  a  prominent 
part  in  important  discussions  and  maintained  himself  with 
credit. 

"  It  was  said  of  Mr.  Buchanan  that  he  instinctively  dreaded 
to  assume  responsibility  of  any  kind.  His  keenest  critic  re 
marked  that  in  the  tentative  period  of  political  issues  assumed 
by  his  party,  Mr.  Buchanan  could  always  be  found  two  paces 


198  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

to  the  rear,  but  in  the  hour  of  triumph  he  marched  proudly 
in  the  front  rank.  He  was  not  gifted  with  independence,  or 
self-assertion.  His  bearing  towards  Southern  statesmen  was 
derogatory  to  him  as  a  man  of  spirit.  His  tone  towards 
administrations  of  his  own  party  was  so  deferential  as  almost 
to  imply  a  lack  of  self-respect.  He  was  not  a  leader  among 
men.  He  was  always  led.  He  was  led  by  Mason  and  Soule 
into  the  imprudence  of  signing  the  Ostend  Manifesto;  he  was 
led  by  the  Southern  members  of  his  Cabinet  into  the  inex 
plicable  folly  and  blunder  of  indorsing  the  Lecompton  iniquity ; 
he  was  led  by  Disunion  Senators  into  the  deplorable  mistake 
contained  in  his  last  annual  message.  Fortunately  for  him 
he  was  led  a  month  later  by  Black  and  Holt  and  Stanton  to 
a  radical  change  of  his  compromising  position. 

"  If  Mr.  Buchanan  had  possessed  the  unconquerable  will 
of  Jackson  or  the  stubborn  courage  of  Taylor,  he  could  have 
changed  the  history  of  the  revolt  against  the  Union.  A  great 
opportunity  came  to  him  but  he  was  not  equal  to  it.  Always 
an  admirable  adviser  where  prudence  and  caution  were  the 
virtues  required,  he  was  fatally  wanting  in  a  situation  which 
demanded  prompt  action  and  strong  nerve.  As  Representa 
tive  in  Congress,  as  Senator,  as  minister  abroad,  as  Secretary 
of  State,  his  career  was  honorable  and  successful.  His  life 
was  singularly  free  from  personal  fault  or  short-coming.  He 
was  honest  and  pure-minded.  His  fame  would  have  been 
more  enviable  if  he  had  never  been  elevated  to  the  Presi 
dency." 

Of  the  great  war  secretary  the  historian  says : 

"  Nine  months  after  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  the  organiza 
tion  and  equipment  of  the  national  forces  were  placed  under 
the  direction  of  Edwin  M.  Stanton  as  Secretary  of  War.  Out 
side  of  his  professional  reputation,  which  was  high,  Mr.  Stanton 
had  been  known  to  the  public  by  his  service  in  the  cabinet  of 
Mr.  Buchanan  during  the  last  three  months  of  his  administra 
tion.  In  that  position  he  had  undoubtedly  exhibited  zeal  and 
fidelity  in  the  cause  of  the  Union.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Democratic  party,  a  thorough  believer  in  its  principles,  and  a 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

hearty  opponent  of  Mr.  Lincoln  in  the  contest  of  1860.  In 
speech  and  in  writing  he  referred  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  supporters 
in  the  extreme  partisan  phrase  of  the  day, — as  '  Black  Repub 
licans.'  He  had  no  sympathy  with  Mr.  Lincoln's  views  on 
the  subject  of  slavery,  and  was  openly  hostile  to  any  revival 
of  the  doctrine  of  protection.  If  Mr.  Buchanan  had  been 
governed  by  the  views  of  Mr.  Stanton,  he  would  undoubtedly 
have  vetoed  the  Morrill  Tariff  Bill,  and  thus  an  unintended 
injury  would  have  been  inflicted  upon  the  reviving  credit  of 
the  nation.  A  citizen  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  Mr.  Stanton 
was  not  called  upon  to  make  a  personal  record  in  the  Presi 
dential  election  of  1860,  but  his  sympathies  were  well  under 
stood  to  be  with  the  supporters  of  Breckinridge. 

"  With  these  political  principles  and  affiliations,  Mr.  Stanton 
was  not  even  considered  in  connection  with  the  original  organ 
ization  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  cabinet.  But  the  fact  of  his  being 
a  Democrat  was  now  in  his  favor,  for  Mr.  Lincoln  was  anxious 
to  signify  by  some  decisive  expression,  his  appreciation  of  the 
patriotism  which  had  induced  so  large  a  proportion  of  the 
Democratic  party  to  lay  aside  prejudice  and  unite  in  support  of 
his  administration.  He  had  a  high  estimate  of  Mr.  Stanton's 
capacity,  derived  from  personal  intercourse  in  a  professional 
engagement  some  three  years  before.  He  had  learned  some 
thing  of  his  powers  of  endurance,  of  his  trained  habits  of 
thought,  of  his  systematic  method  of  labor,  and  he  had  con 
fidence  that  at  forty-seven  years  of  age,  with  vigorous  health 
and  a  robust  constitution,  Mr.  Stanton  could  endure  the  strain 
which  the  increasing  labor  of  the  War  Department  would 
impose.  His  nomination  was  confirmed  without  delay,  and 
the  whole  country  received  his  appointment  with  profound 
satisfaction. 

"  No  cabinet  minister  in  our  history  has  been  so  intemper- 
ately  denounced,  so  extravagantly  eulogized.  The  crowning 
fact  in  his  favor  is  that  through  all  the  mutations  of  his 
stormy  career  he  was  trusted  and  loved  by  Mr.  Lincoln  to  the 
end  of  his  days.  He  was  at  all  times  and  under  all  circum 
stances  absolutely  free  from  corruption,  and  was  savagely 
hostile  to  every  man  in  the  military  service  who  was  even 


2OO  HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

suspected  of  irregularity  or  wrong.  He  possessed  the  execu 
tive  faculty  in  the  highest  degree.  He  was  prompt,  punctual, 
methodical,  rapid,  clear,  explicit  in  all  his  work.  He  imparted 
energy  to  every  branch  of  the  service,  and  his  vigorous  deter 
mination  was  felt  on  the  most  distant  field  of  the  war  as  a 
present  and  inspiring  force. 

"  Mr.  Stanton  had  faults.  He  was  subject  to  unaccountable 
and  violent  prejudice,  and  under  its  sway  he  was  capable  of 
harsh  injustice.  Many  officers  of  merit  and  of  spotless  fame 
fell  under  his  displeasure  and  were  deeply  wronged  by  him. 
Gen.  Stone  was  perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  example  of  the 
extremity  of  outrage  to  which  the  secretary's  temper  could 
carry  him.  He  was  lacking  in  magnanimity.  Even  when 
intellectually  convinced  of  an  error,  he  was  reluctant  to  ac 
knowledge  it.  He  had  none  of  that  grace  which  turns  an 
enemy  to  a  friend  by  healing  the  wounds  which  have  been 
unjustly  inflicted.  While  oppressing  many  who  were  under 
his  control,  he  had  the  keenest  appreciation  of  power,  and  to 
men  who  were  wielding  great  influence  he  exhibited  the  most 
deferential  consideration.  He  had  a  quick  insight  into  char 
acter,  and  at  a  glance  could  tell  a  man  who  would  resist  and 
resent  from  one  who  would  silently  submit.  He  was  ambi 
tious  to  the  point  of  uncontrollable  greed  for  fame,  and  by 
this  quality  was  subject  to  its  counterpart  of  jealousy,  and  to 
an  envy  of  the  increasing  reputation  of  others.  It  was  a  sore 
trial  to  him  that  after  his  able  and  persistent  organization  of 
all  the  elements  of  victory,  the  share  of  credit,  which  justly 
belonged  to  him,  was  lost  sight  of  in  the  glory  which  sur 
rounded  the  hero  of  a  successful  battle. 

"  But  his  weaknesses  did  not  obscure  the  loftiness  of  his 
character.  The  capricious  malignity  and  brutal  injustice  of 
the  Great  Frederick  might  as  well  be  cited  against  the  ac 
knowledged  grandeur  of  his  career,  as  an  indictment  be  brought 
against  Stanton's  fame  on  his  personal  defects,  glaring  and 
even  exasperating  as  they  were.  To  the  nation's  trust  he  was 
sublimely  true.  To  him  was  committed,  in  a  larger  degree 
than  to  any  other  man  except  the  President  alone,  the  success 
ful  prosecution  of  the  war  and  the  consequent  preservation  of 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  2OI 

the  Union.  Against  those  qualities  which  made  him  so  many 
enemies,  against  those  insulting  displays  of  temper  which 
wounded  so  many  proud  spirits  helplessly  subject  to  him  for 
the  time,  against  those  acts  of  rank  injustice  which,  in  the 
judgment  of  his  most  partial  eulogist,  will  always  mar  his 
fame,  must  be  remembered  his  absolute  consecration  of  all 
that  he  was  and  of  all  he  could  hope  to  be,  to  the  cause  of 
his  country.  For  more  than  three  years,  of  unceasing  and 
immeasurable  responsibility,  he  stood  at  his  post,  by  day  and 
by  night,  never  flagging  in  zeal,  never  doubting  in  faith.  Even 
his  burly  frame  and  rugged  strength  were  overborne  by  the 
weight  of  his  cares  and  by  the  strain  upon  his  nerves,  but  not 
until  his  work  was  finished,  not  until  the  great  salvation  had 
come.  Persecution  and  obloquy  have  followed  him  into  the 
grave,  but  an  impartial  verdict  must  be  that  he  was  inspired 
with  the  devotion  of  a  martyr,  and  that  he  wore  out  his  life 
in  a  service  of  priceless  value  to  all  the  generations  of  his 
countrymen." 

The  old  war-horse  and  veteran  campaigner,  William  Te- 
cumseh  Sherman,  thus  impressed  himself  into  Mr.  Elaine's 
mind,  and  so  into  his  history : 

"  The  character  and  ability  of  General  Sherman  were  not 
fully  appreciated  until  the  second  year  of  the  war.  He  had 
not  aimed  to  startle  the  country  at  the  outset  of  his  military 
career  with  any  of  the  brilliant  performances  attempted  by 
many  officers  who  were  heard  of  for  a  day  and  never  after 
wards.  With  the  true  instinct  and  discipline  of  a  soldier,  he 
faithfully  and  skillfully  did  the  work  assigned  to  him,  and  he 
gained  steadily,  rapidly,  and  enduringly  on  the  confidence  and 
admiration  of  the  people.  He  shared  in  the  successful  cam 
paigns  of  General  Grant  in  the  Southwest,  and  earned  his  way 
to  the  great  command  with  which  he  was  now  intrusted — a 
command  which  in  one  sense  involved  the  prompt  success  of 
all  the  military  operations  of  the  government.  Disaster  to 
his  army  did  not  of  course  mean  the  triumph  of  the  rebellion, 
t>ut  it  meant  fresh  levies  of  troops,  the  prolongation  of  the. 


202  HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

struggle,  and  a  serious  increase  to  the  heavy  task  that  General 
Grant  had  assumed  in  Virginia.  General  Sherman  was  a 
graduate  of  West  Point,  and  while  still  a  young  man  had 
served  with  marked  credit  for  some  twelve  years  in  the  army. 
But  he  had  more  than  a  military  education.  Through  a 
checkered  career  in  civil  life,  he  had  enlarged  his  knowledge 
of  the  country,  his  acquaintance  with  men,  his  experience  in 
affairs.  He  had  been  a  banker  in  California,  a  lawyer  in  Kan 
sas,  president  of  a  college  in  Louisiana,  and,  when  the  war 
began,  he  was  about  to  take  charge  of  a  railroad  in  Missouri. 
It  would  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  find  a  man  who  has 
so  thorough,  so  minute  a  knowledge  of  every  State  and  Terri 
tory  of  the  Union.  He  has  made  a  special  study  of  the 
geography  and  products  of  the  country.  Some  one  has  said 
of  him,  that  if  we  should  suddenly  lose  all  the  maps  of  the 
United  States,  we  need  not  wait  for  fresh  surveys  to  make  new 
ones,  because  General  Sherman  could  reproduce  a  perfect  map 
in  twenty-four  hours.  That  this  is  a  pardonable  exaggeration 
would  be  admitted  by  any  one  who  had  conversed  with  Gen 
eral  Sherman  in  regard  to  the  topography  and  resources  of  the 
country  from  Maine  to  Arizona. 

"  General  Sherman's  appearance  is  strongly  indicative  of  his 
descent.  Born  in  the  West,  he  is  altogether  of  Puritan  stock, 
his  father  and  mother  having  emigrated  from  Connecticut, 
where  his  family  resided  for  nearly  two  centuries.  All  the 
characteristics  of  that  remarkable  class  of  men  reappear  in 
General  Sherman.  In  grim,  determined  visage,  in  command 
ing  courage,  in  mental  grasp,  in  sternness  of  principle,  he  is 
an  Ironside  officer  of  the  army  of  Cromwell,  modified  by  the 
impulsive  mercurial  temperament  which  eight  generations  of 
American  descent,  with  Western  birth  and  rearing,  have  im 
pressed  upon  his  character." 

The  martyr  Lincoln — whose  face  was  the  saddest  ever  seen 
in  American  history — was  a  man  most  attractive  to  James  G. 
Blaine.  The  President's  great  qualities  are  thus  remembered : 

"  Six  days  after  the  surrender  of  Lee  the  nation  was  thrown 
into  the  deepest  grief  by  the  assassination  of  the  President. 


HON.    JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  203 

The  gloom  which  enshrouded  the  country  was  as  thick  dark 
ness.  The  people  had  come,  through  many  alternations  of 
fear  and  hope,  to  repose  the  most  absolute  trust  in  Mr.  Lin 
coln.  They  realized  that  he  had  seen  clearly  where  they 
were  blind,  that  he  had  known  fully  where  they  were 
ignorant.  He  had  been  patient,  faithful,  and  far-seeing. 
Religious  people  regarded  him  as  one  divinely  appointed,  like 
the  prophets  of  old,  to  a  great  work,  and  they  found  comfort 
in  the  parallel  which  they  saw  in  his  death  with  that  of  the 
leader  of  Israel.  He  too  had  reached  the  mountain's  top,  and 
had  seen  the  land  redeemed  unto  the  utmost  sea,  and  had 
then  died. 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  some  time  in  the  Presidency  before 
the  public  estimate  of  him  was  correct  or  appreciative.  The 
people  did  not  at  first  understand  him.  In  the  glamour  of  the 
Presidential  canvass  they  had  idealized  him — attributing  to 
him  some  traits  above  and  many  below  his  essential  qualities. 
After  his  election  and  before  his  inauguration,  there  was  a 
general  disposition  to  depreciate  him.  He  became  associated 
in  the  popular  mind  with  an  impending  calamity  and  tens  of 
thousands  who  had  voted  for  him  heartily  repented  the  act, 
and  inwardly  execrated  the  day  that  committed  the  destinies 
of  the  Union  to  his  keeping.  The  first  strong  test  brought 
upon  Mr.  Lincoln  was  this  depressing  reaction  among  so 
many  of  his  supporters.  A  man  with  less  resolute  purpose 
would  have  been  cast  down  by  it,  but  Mr.  Lincoln  preserved 
the  mens  cequa  in  arduis.  Through  the  gloom  of  the  weeks 
preceding  his  inauguration  he  held  his  even  way.  Perhaps 
in  the  more  terrible  crises  through  which  he  was  afterwards 
called  to  pass,  a  firmer  nerve  was  required,  but  not  so  rare  a 
combination  of  qualities  as  he  had  shown  in  the  dismal  months 
with  which  the  year  1 86 1  opened. 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  united  firmness  and  gentleness  in  a  singular 
degree.  .He  rarely  spoke  a  harsh  word.  Ready  to  hear 
argument  and  always  open  to  conviction,  he  adhered  tena 
ciously  to  the  conclusions  which  he  had  finally  reached. 
Altogether  modest,  he  had  confidence  in  himself,  trusted  to 
the  reasoning  of  his  own  mind,  believed  in  the  correctness  of 


2O4  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

his  own  judgment.  Many  of  the  popular  conceptions  con 
cerning  him  are  erroneous.  No  man  was  further  than  he  from 
the  easy,  familiar,  jocose  character  in  which  he  is  often  painted. 
While  he  paid  little  attention  to  form  or  ceremony,  he  was 
not  a  man  with  whom  liberties  could  be  taken.  There  was 
but  one  person  in  Illinois  outside  of  his  own  household  who 
ventured  to  address  him  by  his  first  name.  There  was  no  one 
in  Washington  who  ever  attempted  it.  Appreciating  wit  and 
humor,  he  relished  a  good  story,  especially  if  it  illustrated  a 
truth  or  strengthened  an  argument,  and  he  had  a  vast  fund  of 
illustrative  anecdote,  which  he  used  with  the  happiest  effect. 
But  the  long  list  of  vulgar,  salacious  stories  attributed  to  him, 
were  retailed  only  by  those  who  never  enjoyed  the  privilege 
of  exchanging  a  word  with  him.  His  life  was  altogether  a 
serious  one — inspired  by  the  noblest  spirit,  devoted  to  the 
highest  aims.  Humor  was  but  an  incident  with  him,  a  partial 
relief  to  the  melancholy  which  tinged  all  his  years. 

"  He  presented  an  extraordinary  combination  of  mental  and 
moral  qualities.  As  a  statesman  he  had  the  loftiest  ideal,  and 
it  fell  to  his  lot  to  inaugurate  measures  which  changed  the 
fate  of  millions  of  living  men,  of  tens  of  millions  yet  to  be 
born.  As  a  manager  of  political  issues  and  master  of  the  art 
of  presenting  them,  he  has  had  no  rival  in  this  country,  unless 
one  be  found  in  Jefferson.  The  complete  discomfiture  of  his 
most  formidable  assailants  in  1863,  especially  of  those  who 
sought  to  prejudice  him  before  the  people  on  account  of  the 
arrest  of  Vallandigham,  cannot  easily  be  paralleled  for 
shrewdness  of  treatment  and  for  keen  appreciation  of  the  re 
actionary  influences  which  are  certain  to  control  public 
opinion.  Mr.  Van  Buren  stands  without  rival  in  the  use  of 
partisan  tactics.  He  operated  altogether  on  men,  and  believed 
in  self-interest  as  the  mainspring  of  human  action.  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  ability  was  of  a  far  higher  and  broader  character. 
There  was  never  the  slightest  lack  of  candor  or  fairness  in  his 
methods.  He  sought  to  control  men  through  their  reason 
and  their  conscience.  The  only  art  he  employed  was  that  of 
presenting  his  views  so  convincingly  as  to  force  conviction  on 
the  minds  of  his  hearers  and  his  readers. 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  2O$ 

"  The  executive  talent  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  remarkable.  He 
was  emphatically  the  head  of  his  own  administration,  ultimate 
judge  at  all  points  and  on  all  occasions  where  questions  of 
weight  were  to  be  decided.  An  unwise  eulogist  of  Mr.  Sew- 
ard  attributes  to  him  the  origination  and  enforcement  of  the 
great  policies  which  distinguished  the  administration.  So  far 
is  this  from  the  truth  that  in  more  than  one  instance  the  most 
momentous  steps  were  taken  against  the  judgment  and  con 
trary  to  the  advice  of  the  Secretary  of  State.  The  position  of 
control  and  command  so  firmly  held  by  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
strikingly  shown  when  the  Peace  Conference  was  about  to 
assemble  at  Fortress  Monroe.  He  dispatched  Mr.  Seward  to 
the  place  of  meeting  in  advance  of  his  own  departure  from 
Washington,  giving  him  the  most  explicit  instructions  as  to 
his  mode  of  action — prescribing  carefully  the  limitations  he 
should  observe,  and  concluding  with  these  words:  'You  will 
hear  all  they  may  choose  to  say,  and  report  it  to  me.  You  will 
not  assume  to  definitely  consummate  anything'  Assuredly  this 
is  not  the  language  of  deference.  It  does  not  stop  short  of 
being  the  language  of  command.  It  is,  indeed,  the  expression 
of  one  who  realized  that  he  was  clothed  with  all  the  power 
belonging  to  his  great  office.  No  one  had  a  more  sincere 
admiration  of  Mr.  Seward's  large  qualities  than  the  President; 
no  one  more  thoroughly  appreciated  his  matchless  powers. 
But  Mr.  Lincoln  had  not  only  full  trust  in  his  own  capacity, 
but  a  deep  sense  of  his  own  responsibility — a  responsibility 
which  could  not  be  transferred,  and  for  which  he  felt  answer 
able  to  his  conscience  and  to  God. 

"  There  has  been  discussion  as  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  religious 
belief.  He  was  silent  as  to  his  own  preference  among  creeds. 
Prejudice  against  any  particular  denomination  he  did  not 
entertain.  Allied  all  his  life  with  Protestant  Christianity,  he 
thankfully  availed  himself  of  the  services  of  an  eminent  Cath 
olic  prelate — Archbishop  Hughes,  of  New  York — in  a  personal 
mission  to  England,  of  great  importance,  at  a  crisis  when  the 
relations  between  the  two  countries  were  disturbed  and  threat 
ening.  Throughout  the  whole  period  of  the  war  he  constantly 
directed  the  attention  of  the  nation  to  dependence  on  God. 


2O6  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

It  may  indeed  be  doubted  whether  he  omitted  this  in  a  single 
state  paper.  In  every  message  to  Congress,  in  every  proc 
lamation  to  the  people,  he  made  it  prominent.  In  July,  1863, 
after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  he  called  upon  the  people  to 
give  thanks,  because  'it  has  pleased  Almighty  God  to  hearken 
to  the  supplications  and  prayers  of  an  afflicted  people,  and  to 
vouchsafe  signal  and  effective  victories  tq  the  army  and  navy 
of  the  United  States,'  and  he  asked  the  people  'to  render 
homage  to  the  Divine  Majesty  and  to  invoke  the  influence  of 
His  Holy  Spirit  to  subdue  the  anger  which  has  produced  and 
so  long  sustained  a  needless  and  cruel  rebellion.'  On  another 
occasion,  recounting  the  blessings  which  had  come  to  the 
Union,  he  said :  '  No  human  counsel  hath  devised,  nor  hath 
any  mortal  hand  worked  out,  these  great  things.  They  are 
the  gracious  gifts  of  the  Most  High  God  who,  while  dealing 
with  us  in  anger  for  our  sins,  hath  nevertheless  remembered 
mercy.'  Throughout  his  entire  official  career — attended  at 
all  times  with  exacting  duty  and  painful  responsibility — he 
never  forgot  his  own  dependence,  or  the  dependence  of  the 
people,  upon  a  Higher  Power.  In  his  last  public  address, 
delivered  to  an  immense  crowd  assembled  at  the  White  House 
on  the  nth  of  April,  to  congratulate  him  on  the  victories  of 
the  Union,  the  President,  standing  as  he  unconsciously  was  in 
the  very  shadow  of  death,  said  reverently  to  his  hearers:  '  In 
the  midst  of  your  joyous  expression,  He  from  whom  all  bless 
ings  flow  must  first  be  remembered  ! ' ' 

But  we  cannot  linger  in  such  delightful  company.  The 
stirring  scenes  of  a  later  day  and  the  fortunes  of  the  living 
demand  that  we  should  follow  them  hence,  and  forsake  the 
dead. 


CHAPTER   XL 
SELECTING  A  PRESIDENT — THE  CHICAGO  CONVENTION — How  THE  CHOICE 

CAME  TO    BE   MADE. 

WITH  the  opening  of  the  present  year  the  Republican 
party  took  up  the  question  of  a  standard-bearer  for 
the  autumn  struggle.  Everything  seemed  in  doubt.  No 
one  questioned  that  President  Arthur  was  in  the  lists  for 
a  nomination,  though  that  gentleman  did  and  said  nothing 
which  could  be  construed  into  an  admission  of  his  ambi 
tion.  Coming  into  power  through  a  sad  and  terrible  tragedy, 
a  chance  candidate,  it  was  but  natural  that  he  should 
desire  the  seal  of  his  country's  approval  placed  upon  his  ad 
ministration.  Indeed,  had  he  not  done  so,  had  he  had  no 
further  ambition  than  to  retire  from  the  great  responsibilities 
that  an  assassin's  bullet  had  shot  into  his  hands,  President 
Arthur  would  not  have  deserved  all  the  praise  his  countrymen 
bestowed.  So,  with  the  opening  days  of  the  year,  Mr.  Ar 
thur's  canvass  took  undoubted  shape  and  form. 

Abreast  of  it,  in  time,  leading  it  in  force  and  emphasis,  was 
the  effort  of  the  friends  of  James  G.  Elaine  to  place  that  gen 
tleman  at  the  avowed  head  of  his  party.  Twice  Mr.  Elaine 
had  been  cheated,  so  his  friends  maintained,  and  the  third  time 
they  were  bound  to  win.  To  give  color  to  their-  more  than 
earnest  work  they  had  three  decided  sources  of  power :  Mr. 
Elaine's  popularity,  his  avowed  retirement  from  politics,  and 

his  book.     Without  doubt  Mr.  Blaine  had  more  friends  than 
13  (207) 


2OS  SELECTING  A  PRESIDENT. 

any  other  individual  in  public  life,  and  no  name  before 
the  American  people  could  rouse  more  enthusiasm  than  that 
of  the  Maine  statesman.  His  personal  hold  on  the  people 
was  therefore  a  magnificent  lever,  for  after  all  the  people  rule 
Then  as  Mr.  Blaine  persistently  asserted  that  he  was  out  of 
politics,  it  was  impossible  to  form  combinations  against  him 
you  could  not  combine  against  a  non-combatant.  And,  again 
Mr.  Blaine's  much-heralded  volume  was  produced  in  such  wa) 
and  at  such  time  as  to  derive  the  greatest  advantage  which 
his  strong,  clear  sentences,  his  eloquence,  his  knowledge  oi 
men  and  affairs  were  capable  of  gaining  him.  With  thre< 
such  operating  influences  Mr.  Blaine's  "  boom "  assumec 
shape  early  in  the  year,  and  grew  in  size  and  strength.  Ye 
with  its  assertion  came  a  curious  feeling  that  it  was  not  possi 
ble  for  him  to  win.  It  was  thought,  and  not  without  reason 
that  neither  Mr.  Blaine  nor  Mr.  Arthur  could  receive  enougl 
ballots  at  the  outset  to  nominate,  and  that,  as  it  was  impossi 
ble  for  either  to  draw  from  the  other,  both  would  be  defeate< 
by  the  mutual  enmity  of  their  followers. 

After  these  two,  who  were  the  leading  candidates,  came 
second  list  of  possibilities,  in  which  many  who  were  name* 
were  named  only  because  they  were  extremely  likely  to  ge 
the  second  place.  For  the  head  of  the  ticket  Edmunds,  Lin 
coin,  Logan,  Harrison,  Sherman,  Grant,  were  all  heralded  i] 
turn,  and  Lincoln,  Hawley,  Gresham,  and  many  others  wer 
selected  by  the  newspaper  autocrats  as  being  fitted  to  adori 
the  tail  of  the  ticket.  Naturally,  too,  there  was  the  inevitabl 
"  dark  horse,"  the  unknown,  the  man  whose  "  boom  "  was  ii 
the  hands  of  a  few  aspiring  but  silent  leaders,  shrewd,  lynx 
eyed  men,  who  knew  that  if  they  could  only  grasp  the  light 
ning  at  exactly  the  right  moment,  they  could  possess  them 
selves  of  it.  And  these  men  had  many  unconscious  followers 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  211 

who  regretted  yet  believed  that  a  dark  horse  and  not  a  favorite 
was  sure  to  be  the  winner. 

This  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  the  managers  for  the 
various  contestants  reached  Chicago,  the  city  of  the  battle. 
The  camps  were  pitched  at  once  and  the  earnest  work  that 
was  to  result  in  splendid  victory  was  begun.  The  Elaine  men 
were  the  first  in  the  field,  and  they  came  to  the  great  Lake 
city  most  thoroughly  equipped  for  what  they  were  expected  to 
do,  or  rather  for  what  they  came  for,  because  the  distinguished 
gentleman  in  whose  behalf  they  were  working  was  himself 
taking  no  part  in  the  great  struggle.  Indeed,  his  friends  com 
plained  of  his  apathy  and  indifference  to  their  appeals  for  his 
personal  aid.  His  canvass  for  the  nomination  was  therefore 
conducted  without  him,  and  yet  most  ably.  And  he  is  in 
debted  for  his  nomination  directly  to  Stephen  W.  Elkins,  of 
New  Mexico,  and  Thomas  Donaldson,  of  Philadelphia,  who 
had  supreme  charge,  assisted  by  M.  P.  Handy  of  the  Philadel 
phia  Press,  Whitelaw  Reid  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  Titus 
Sheard  of  Little  Falls,  N.  Y.,  William  Walter  Phelps  of  New 
Jersey,  Collector  Robertson  of  New  York  City,  and  J.  B. 
Chaffee  of  Colorado.  Of  course  there  were  others,  but  these 
were  the  chosen  few,  and  they  were  men  who  combined  brains 
with  energy  and  tact  with  perseverance.  The  second  line  of 
assistants  were  men  who,  while  lacking  the  exact  ability  to 
conduct  a  compaign,  were  yet  able  to  give  valuable  advice  to 
the  conductors  and  furnish  valuable  information  which,  while 
some  persons  have  it  at  their  fingers'  ends,  others  yet  find  a 
difficulty  in  procuring. 

Mr.  Elaine's  men  were  all  men  of  marked  fitness  for  what 
they  had  to  do.  They  were  not  what  are  called  statesmen, 
nor  were  they  orators ;  but  they  possessed  eminently  the  rare 
and  indispensable  faculty  of  organization,  conduct  and  politi- 


212  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

cal  sagacity.  Mr.  Elkins  is  a  man  of  determination  and  dar 
ing  ;  Mr.  Donaldson  possesses  a  nature  at  once  genial,  con 
vincing  and  tireless.  Night  and  day  he  never  left  his  post, 
never  was  weary,  never  unamiable,  and  never  forgetful.  To 
him  was  confided  the  disposition  of  the  wavering  Southern 
delegates,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  a  delegate  who  once  lent 
Mr.  Donaldson  his  attention  never  had  it  distracted  until  his 
vote  was  booked  for  Elaine.  It  was  the  same  character  of 
work  that  was  accomplished  by  Mr.  Sheard,  a  man  of  natural 
political  instincts  reinforced  by  the  abilities  to  accomplish.  To 
these  gentlemen,  Mr.  Whitelaw  Reid  and  Mr.  M.  P.  Handy 
brought  all  the  resources  of  two  influential  newspapers — the 
Tribune  of  New  York  and  the  Press  of  Philadelphia. 

The  interests  of  President  Arthur  were  in  the  hands  of  Mr. 
James  D.  Warren,  Chairman  of  the  New  York  State  Republican 
Committee,  Collector  Jesse  Spalding  of  Chicago,  Silas  B. 
Dutcher  of  Brooklyn,  Bernard  Biglin  of  New  York,  and 
others.  Mr.  George  William  Curtis,  Hon.  Andrew  D.  White, 
President  of  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  Theodore  Roosevelt 
of  New  York,  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  and  Congressman  John 
D.  Long  of  Massachusetts  came  to  care  for  Senator  Ed 
munds  ;  Ex-Governor  Cullom  and  "  Long  "  Jones  manipulated 
Logan ;  Judge  Foraker  of  Ohio  did  what  he  could  for  John 
Sherman;  and  finally,  Wharton  Barker  of  Pennsylvania  arrived 
in  Chicago  with  the  avowed  intention  of  nominating  Senator 
Ben  Harrison  at  the  moment  when  the  leading  candidates 
were  dead  upon  the  field,  and  the  success  of  a  dark  horse 
had  become  possible. 

At  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  contest  Mr.  Blaine  was 
not  a  believer  in  his  success.  Veiy  properly  he  said  that 
combinations  would  be  made  against  him  as  the  leading  can 
didate,  that,  being  led  by  the  cry,  "  Anything  to  beat  Blaine," 


• 

SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  213 

would  doubtless  succeed.  This  was  only  true  before  the  assem 
bling  of  the  Convention.  For  every  delegate  in  Chicago  was 
soon  made  aware  of  the  determined  feeling  that  animated  the 
contending  parties  to  the  issue.  The  Elaine  and  Arthur  men  ex 
pressed  their  determination  to  stick  until  one  or  the  other  was 
chosen.  The  Logan  men  announced  the  same  intention,  but 
were  not  believed,  as  they  were  expected  at  the  effective  mo 
ment  to  come  to  Elaine.  The  Edmunds  men  had  apparently 
come  to  Chicago  to  flirt  and  fish,  to  do  the  wrong  thing  at 
the  right  moment,  to  be  the  centre  of  a  good  deal  of  attention, 
and  the  focus  soon  after  of  much  scorn  and  derision.  Having 
it  practically  in  their  power  to  defeat  Mr.  Elaine  by  continu 
ing  against  him,  they  stuck  to  Mr.  Edmunds  until  Mr.  Elaine 
had  reached  the  goal  and  had  been  handed  the  prize,  and 
then  Mr.  Curtis  arose  to  gravely  inquire  when  the  race  would 
start. 

The  really  serious  diversion  from  Mr.  Elaine's  wonderful 
and  triumphant  march  was  the  Harrison  movement.  It  would 
have  diverted  28  votes  from  Elaine  on  the  first  ballot,  thus  re 
ducing  his  total  to  306^,  a  fatally  significant  number  and  a 
total  so  discouraging  in  the  face  of  the  assertions  of  Mr. 
Elaine's  managers  that  his  chances  would  have  been  impaired 
— possibly  beyond  recovery.  The  afternoon  before  the  day  in 
which  the  balloting  began,  however,  the  Harrison  men  find 
ing  that  the  promises  of  support  made  by  the  Edmunds  men 
-vere  born  of  vanity  and  conceived  in  jest,  decided  promptly 
to  abandon  their  programme  and  revert  to  Mr.  Elaine,  to  whom 
they  properly  belonged.  The  nomination  of  Mr.  Harrison, 
therefore,  was  not  made,  and  that  of  Mr.  James  Gillespie 
Elaine  followed  as  a  matter  of  course. 

IN  THE  CONVENTION  HALL. 

Chicago  during  the  time  that  it  was  possessed  by  the  Re- 


214  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

publican  National  Convention  can  truly  be  said  to  have  been 
alive.  And  no  spectator  in  the  place  could  doubt  but  that 
a  political  convention  was  at  hand.  Wherever  one  turned, 
nothing  but  political  discussions  met  the  ear,  and  the  air  re 
sounded  with  praises  of  candidates,  as  well  as  with  charges 
against  opponents  of  any  possible  description.  Noise,  din, 
music,  crowded  corridors,  dirty  floors,  tobacco  smoke,  push 
ing,  shouting,  shoving  hoarse-voiced  men  were  the  compo 
nents  of  the  picture  everywhere,  the  night  before  the  Conven 
tion  met. 

Tuesday,  June  3,  was  a  lively  day,  a  rare  June  day.  Before 
the  doors  of  the  Exposition  Building  was  assembled  a  vast 
crowd  of  anxious,  eager  people,  waiting  the  moment  when 
they  might  enter  to  witness  the  grandest  and  most  inspiriting 
scene  possible  to  American  life. 

The  various  entrances  to  the  Exposition  Building  were 
thronged  with  eager  crowds  as  early  as  8  o'clock,  when  the 
doorkeepers  to  the  Convention  took  their  appointed  stations. 
Innumerable  flags  of  varied  color  and  design  flapped  in  the 
morning  wind  from  the  turrets,  roof,  and  eaves  of  the  building, 
and  above  the  main  entrance,  in  the  centre  of  a  tastefully- 
blended  trophy  of  National  emblems,  shone  the  National 
coat-of-arms  with  its  interwoven  motto :  "  E  Pluribus  Unum." 
A  flood  of  warm,  bright  sunshine  poured  down  on  the  placid, 
velvet-violet  bosom  of  the  lake  ;  the  blue,  Italian-like  sky  was 
flecked  with  drifting  clouds ;  the  June  breezes  blew  from  the 
south — warm,  gentle  zephyrs  just  sufficient  to  stir  the  floating 
flags  and  fan  the  heated  faces  of  the  excited  politicians. 

No  one  was  admitted  except  on  special  business  until  10 
o'clock.  From  that  hour  until  12.30.1  surging  throng  besieged 
the  building,  and  it  was  only  with  extreme  difficulty  in  many 
cases  that  the  delegates  were  able  to  make  their  way  to  the 


H 


CROWDED   HOTELS. 
1^N_ 


DELEGATES   FROM   SOUTH   CAROLINA  AND    FLORIDA. 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  2 17 

proper  entrance.  Delegates  and  members  of  the  press  were 
admitted  at  the  northern  main  entrance.  Persons  holding 
stage  tickets  were  admitted  at  the  north  end  of  the  building. 
The  central  main  entrance  admitted  to  some  of  the  boxes  and 
to  certain  sections  of  the  floor.  About  a  dozen  other  entrances 
had  been  improvised  by  removing  some  of  the  large  windows 
and  erecting  steps  thereto.  These  entrances  led  to  the  amphi 
theatre  or  south  gallery,  to  the  east  and  west  galleries,  to  the 
alternates'  division  and  to  various  other  sections  of  the  main 
floor. 

About  11.30  the  delegates  began  to  arrive  in  processions  of 
varying  depth  and  length.  The  Iowa  phalanx,  with  its  plain 
red  badges,  was  about  the  first  to  arrive,  in  solid  and  well- 
drilled  form  ;  then  came  Rhode  Island,  with  its  gaudy  ensigns 
of  blue  and  gold ;  and  after  that  most  of  the  States  of  the 
Union  crowded  up  and  hustled  around,  and  became  inextric 
ably  commingled.  The  great  red-and-gold  sign,  "  For  Dele 
gates  Only,"  over  the  delegates'  entrance  was  not  sufficient  to 
prevent  alternates  and  the  friends  of  delegates  crowding  up 
and  trying  to  gain  admission  by  that  entrance.  The  door 
keepers  and  policemen  on  duty  howled  themselves  hoarse, 
pointed  frantically  to  the  other  entrances,  and  protested  in 
warm,  emphatic  language  against  the  stupidity  of  people  who 
rushed  in  without  reading  or  understanding  the  plain  notices 
over  the  doors^  while  the  ticketless  crowd  outside  enjoyed  the 
confusion  and  the  bad  language  with  a  large,  approving  grin. 

The  delegates  from  the  East  attracted  the  largest  share  of 
attention — in  fact,  the  Philadelphia  section  received  more 
public  notice  than  all  the  other  delegates  put  together.  These 
were  all  dressed  in  what  might  be  fairly  termed  a  Philadelphia 
uniform.  About  thirty  of  these  delegates  and  their  friends 
were  dressed  exactly  alike,  suggesting  the  idea  that  the  outfits 


218  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

had  been  purchased  on  the  contract  system.  The  dress  was 
all  of  the  same  material — a  fine  steel-gray  cloth  of  light  shade ; 
the  coats  were  all  of  the  cut  known  as  open-sack ;  vests  to 
button  up  pretty  close,  and  without  collar ;  trousers  tight  and 
fashionable  ;  jieckties  of  brilliant  blue  silk,  tied  in  a  plain  bow, 
and  the  whole  uniform  crowned  with  a  cream-colored  plug  hat 
set  slightly  askew.  Thus  were  the  Philadelphians  adorned. 
And  all  the  small  details  of  the  thirty  outfits  were  carefully 
arranged,  leaving  on  the  beholder  a  general  impression  of 
beauty  and  harmony.  Every  man  wore  a  bouquet  and  every 
bouquet  consisted  mainly  of  a  red  rosebud,  a  pansy  and  a  lily 
of  the  valley.  The  smaller  men  wore  the  larger  nosegays. 
Nearly  every  man  had  a  cream-silk  handkerchief,  about  two 
inches  of  which  were  allowed  to  extend  from  his  coat-pocket. 
These  handkerchiefs  were  evidently  for  ornament  only,  those 
for  use  being  of  plain  whity-colored  cotton  and  carried  in  the 
hip-pocket.  All  the  delegates  of  the  party  wore  great  badges 
of  blue  and  gold,  with  a  double  overflap  and  a  deep  gold 
fringe.  There  were  about  six  men  in  the  party,  dressed  ex 
actly  like  the  others,  but  without  the  badges,  each  of  whom 
was  from  six  and  a  half  to  seven  feet  high  and  would  weigh 
from  270  to  400  pounds.  These  giants  stood  in  a  knot  ouN 
side  the  madding  crowd  and  cracked  bootblack  jokes.  "  Did 
you  say  President  Arthur's  mother  used  to  wash  for  your 
folk  ?  "  says  Giant  No.  I  to  Giant  No.  2.  And  Giant  No.  2 
replies  :  "  Oh,  say  !  don't  give  it  away  like  that."  Then  Giants 
Nos.  3,  4,  5  and  6  join  Giants  I  and  2  in  a  guffaw.  And  the 
listening  street  Arab  ejaculates  :  "  Oh,  bosh  !  "  and  turns  away 
in  disgust,  as  do  many  of  the  curious  crowd  encircling  the 
Jumbo  dudes.  Every  few  minutes  the  men  in  gray  adjourned 
to  the  nearest  saloon,  and  it  was  not  until  about  12.45  tnat 
the  dazzling  Philadelphia  legion  and  its  big  side-show  vanished 
into  the  convention-hall. 


SELECTING    A   PRESIDENT. 

Within  the  scene  was  as  inspiring  as  without.  The  elliptical 
area  of  the  hall  in  which  the  delegates  assembled,  the  lofty 
walls  and  the  rising  of  the  tiers  of  seats  resemble  somewhat 
the  ancient  Coliseum  in  the  days  of  its  glory ;  but  in  another 
respect  it  was  like  the  Flavian  reservoir  on  which  the  great 
amphitheatre  was  built.  It  was  a  reservoir  into  which  there 
began  to  trickle  through  little  leaks,  as  it  were,  from  the  great 
human  flood  that  surged  outside.  The  leaks  grew  into  rivulets, 
and  these  into  streams  and  torrents  as  the  swollen  waters  of  a 
river  first  push  rills  through  the  levees,  and  then,  growing  in 
dimensions,  carry  all  before  them. 

And  then  the  reservoir  became  a  coliseum.  The  human 
tides  flowed  in  till  all  the  spaces  were  black  with  people. 
These  people  covered  the  level  floor;  they  surged  up  and 
occupied  the  elevated  seats :  they  swarmed  far  up  into  the 
high  galleries,  and  even  thronged  what  seemed  like  little  dove 
cotes  above  the  eaves  beneath  the  roof.  By-and-by  the  surge 
of  the  tides  ceased,  and  there  was  peace. 

The  scene  was  one  of  striking  interest.  The  body  of  the 
spacious  auditorium  was  occupied  by  the  seventeen  hundred 
delegates  and  alternates,  massed  in  solid  form,  with  a  partition  to 
shut  the  more  choicely  elect  from  the  ready  substitutes,  present 
ing  an  imposing  tribunal  of  arbitration.  Beyond  this  portion  the 
admirably  arranged  provisions  of  the  hall  gave  a  gradual  as 
cent  of  graded  seats  to  counterbalance  the  platform  of  dignity 
at  the  other  end,  reaching  up  to  a  line  with  the  galleries  that 
reached  north  and  south  on  either  side.  In  every  division  of 
this  ample  space  the  crowd  was  equal  to  the  accommodations, 
so  that  a  bird's-eye  view  gave  the  effect  of  a  perfect  basin  of 
humanity,  an  animated  picture  to  inspire  enthusiasm  and  whet 
the  edge  of  keen  expectancy.  Numbers  lift  the  common  soul 
into  importance  and  nerve  the  ordinary  heart.  Enthusiasm 


22O  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

is  breathed  like  a  spell  into  every  sense,  and  when  the  touch 
of  opportunity  is  felt  the  ready  sympathy  leaps  out  to  swell 
the  applause  that  makes  occasion  great.  To  further  charm 
this  quick  responsive  sense  the  signs  and  emblems  of  enlisted 
States  waved  or  gleamed  wherever  eyes  were  turned,  in  happy 
harmony  with  the  broader  banners  of  the  general  Union.  At 
the  opening  hour  the  bannerets  of  States  hung  their  gold  and 
silken  beauty  down  like  tribal  flags  to  mark  the  factors  of  the 
body.  From  them  the  scene  gained  picturesque  addition,  but 
as  the  forest  yields  its  graceful  foliage  to  clear  the  way  of 
action,  so  these  gaudy  trappings  of  vain  pomp  were  torn  away 
from  their  supporting  staves  to  give  to  clearer  view  the  more 
important  delegates.  It  needs  no  chance-caught  ornaments 
to  lend  impressive  character  to  such  a  scene.  The  eye  can 
spare  the  flaming  colors  and  devices  of  fixed  decoration  at 
such  a  time  as  this,  where  every  interest  is  centred  upon  the 
living  incidents  that  seem  to  shape  the  destiny  of  nations 
while  they  are  in  action.  The  spectators  are  more  concerned 
with  singling  out  the  men  of  note  who  sit  so  modestly  among 
their  less  distinguished  associates,  and  the  mind  is  busier  with 
the  sentiments  of  potent  speech  than  the  mute  though  heroic 
mottoes  that  mark  the  badge  of  States.  Perhaps  of  all  the 
means  employed  to  give  a  pictured  purpose  to  the  hall  nothing 
attracted  more  attention  than  the  flag-draped  crayon  of  General 
Garfield  that  hung  before  the  chairman's  stand  beneath  the 
widespread  golden  eagle.  This  seemed  a  memory.  A  thousand 
eyes  beheld  it,  and  few  who  looked  were  quite  without  a 
thought  of  the  June  day  a  little  span  ago  when  a  convention 
beneath  the  same  roof  lifted  that  man  upon  its  shoulders  and 
gave  his  name  to  fame.  And  perhaps  some,  too,  remembered 
that  his  associate  at  that  time  stood  now  the  foremost  one  to 
combat  the  influences  that,  through  a  broken  chance  of  wild 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  221 

surrender,  gave  Garfield  eminence.  The  conditions  are,  indeed, 
but  little  changed,  though  the  Spartan  quality  and  the  Spartan 
purpose  that  made  that  epoch  grand  can  never  be  revived 
again.  There  are  broader  interests  now  involved,  a  less  em 
phatic  combination  of  opposing  forces  to  defeat  the  popular 
will,  but  the  personal  interest  is  as  great,  and  the  general  aim 
as  high.  It  is  again  the  sentiment  of  the  people  against  or 
ganized  ambition,  and  in  the  outer  circle  where  interest  takes 
shape  there  is  an  eagerness  no  less  intense  to  mark  the  ebb 
and  flow  of  action  than  when  this  vaulted  roof  flung  back  the 
tumult  of  a  half  hour's  robust  cheering. 

At  precisely  twenty-five  minutes  and  a  half  past  twelve, 
noonday,  Senator  Dwight  M.  Sabin,  of  Minnesota,  Chairman 
of  the  National  Republican  Committee,  rapped  with  his  gavel 
on  the  desk  over  which  James  A.  Garfield  was  nominated  four 
years  ago.  His  first  words  were  :  "  The  delegates  in  the  aisle 
will  please  be  seated."  When  comparative  quiet  was  gained 
he  addressed  the  audience  as  follows  : 

"  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  EIGHTH  REPUBLICAN  NATIONAL 
CONVENTION  :  The  hour  having  arrived  appointed  for  the 
meeting  of  this  Convention,  it  will  now  be  opened  by  prayer  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Bristol." 

The  reverend  gentleman  prayed  in  the  following  words : 

"  Let  us  pray  :  God  of  our  fathers,  we  adore  and  worship  Thee,  and  to  Thee,  by 
whose  grace  and  providence  we  are  what  we  are  as  a  Nation,  we  would  lift  our  hearts 
in  devout  thanksgiving  and  everlasting  praise.  We  thank  thee  for  our  glorious 
National  heritage,  for  this  magnificent  land  of  wealthy  hills  and  fertile  plains, 
for  the  laws  and  institutions  which  make  it  a  land  of  progress  and  of  liberty.  We 
thank  Thee  for  our  Christian  sires,  lovers  of  freedom  and  of  God,  men  of  con 
science  and  integrity,  whose  names  have  jeweled  history,  and  the  memories  of 
who^e  deeds  is  an  inspiration  to  heroism  and  patriotic  pride.  We  thank  Thee 
for  Plymouth  Rock,  for  Appomittox — foot-teps  that  mark  the  progress  of  right 
eousness  and  the  higher  law.  We  thank  Thee  for  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence,  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  Emancipation  Proclamation — our 
blood-bought  charters  of  freedom.  We  thank  Thee  for  the  Republican  party — 
for  its  splendid  history  and  its  still  more  splendid  possibilities;  and  now,  as  this 
great  convention  enters  upon  a  work  which  will  involve  the  most  precious  inter- 


222  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

ests  of  fifty  millions  of  people,  and  in  a  large  sense  the  destiny  of  free  institutions, 
we  devotedly  and  most  earnestly  supplicate  the  blessing  of  Almighty  God.  Bless 
the  members  of  this  body,  the  homes,  the  States,  the  party,  and  the  Nation  which 
they  represent.  May  the  ambition  of  patriotism,  the  wisdom  of  statesmanship,  and 
the  righteousness  of  Christian  conscientiousness  possess  their  numbers  and  con 
trol  their  action.  And  may  the  results  of  this  convention  be  in  harmony  with  the 
will  of  God  concerning  us,  and  be  received  with  joy  by  the  people  of  this  whole 
land.  And  grant,  Almighty  God,  that  the  coming  political  campaign  may  be 
conducted  with  that  decency,  intelligence,  patriotism,  and  dignity  of  temper 
which  become  a  free  and  intelligent  people.  Continue  Thy  mercies  to  us.  Bless 
our  country  with  power,  prosperity,  and  universal  enlightenment.  May  we  never 
deny  the  faith  of  our  fathers.  May  we  never  cease  to  be  a  temperate,  a  free,  an 
industrious,  a  Sabbath-keeping,  and  God-fearing,  and  a  Christian  people,  blessed 
with  the  righteousness  that  exalteth  the  Nation.  And  to  Thee  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Spirit  will  we  ascribe  praise  and  offer  worship  forever.  Amen." 

Senator  Sabin — The  Secretary  of  the  National  Committee 
will  now  read  the  call  for  the  Convention. 
Secretary  Martin  read  as  follows : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C,  Dec.  12,  1883. — A  National  Republican  Convention 
will  meet  at  Chicago,  111.,  Tuesday,  June  3,  1884,  at  12  o'clock  noon,  for  the 
nomination  of  candidates  to  be  supported  for  President  and  Vice-President  at  the 
next  election. 

The  Republican  electors  of  the  several  States,  and  all  other  voters,  without  re 
gard  to  past  political  differences,  who  are  in  favor  of  elevating  and  dignifying 
American  labor,  protecting  and  extending  home  industries,  giving  free  popular 
education  to  the  masses  of  the  people,  securing  free  suffrage  and  an  honest  count 
ing  of  ballots,  effectually  protecting  all  human  rights  in  every  section  of  our  com 
mon  country,  and  who  desire  to  promote  friendly  feeling  and  permanent  har 
mony  throughout  the  land  by  maintaining  a  National  Government  pledged  to 
these  objects  and  principles,  are  cordially  invited  to  send  from  each  State  four 
delegates-at-large,  from  each  Congressional  District  two  delegates,  and  for  each 
Representative-at-Lnrge  two  delegates  to  the  Convention. 

The  delegates-at-large  shall  be  chosen  by  popular  delegate  State  Conventions, 
called  on  not  less  than  twenty  days'  published  notice,  and  held  not  less  than  thirty 
days  nor  more  than  sixty  days  before  the  time  fixed  for  the  meeting  of  the  Na 
tional  Convention. 

The  Republicans  of  the  various  Congressional  Districts  shall  have  the  option 
of  electing  their  delegates  at  separate  popular  delegate  conventioi'S,  called  on 
similar  notice,  and  held  in  the  Congressional  Districts  at  any  time  within  the  fif 
teen  days  next  prior  to  the  meeting  of  the  State  Conventions,  or  by  sub-divisions 
of  the  State  Conventions  into  District  Conventions;  and  such  delegates  shall  he 
chosen  in  the  latter  method  if  not  elected  previous  to  the  meeting  of  the  State 
Conventions.  All  district  delegates  shall  be  accredited  by  the  officers  of  such 
District  Conventions. 

Two  delegates  shall  be  allowed  from  each  Territory  and  from  the  District  of 
Columbia,  similarly  chosen. 

Notices  of  contests  shall  be  given  to  the  National  Committee,  accompanied  by 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  223 

full  printed  statements  of  the  grounds  of  contest,  which  shall  also  be  made  pub 
lic  ;  and  preference  in  the  order  of  hearing  and  determining  contests  shall  be 
given,  by  the  Convention,  according  to  the  dates  of  the  reception  of  such  notices 
and  statements  by  the  National  Committee. 

It  is  signed  by  all  the  members  of  the  committee  from  the 
several  States  and  Territories. 

Senator  Sabin — Gentlemen  of  the  Convention :  On  behalf 
of  the  National  Republican  Committee  permit  me  to  welcome 
you  to  Chicago.  As  Chairman  of  that  committee,  it  is  both 
my  duty  and  pleasure  to  call  you  to  order  as  a  National  Re 
publican  Convention.  This  city,  already  known  as  the  City 
of  Conventions,  is  amongst  the  most  cherished  of  all  the  spots 
of  our  country,  sacred  to  the  memories  of  a  Republican.  It 
is  the  birthplace  of  Republican  victory.  On  these  fields  of 
labor  gathered  the  early  fathers  of  our  political  faith  and 
planned  the  great  battle  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 
[Applause.]  Here  they  chose  that  immortal  chief  that  led  us 
on  to  victory — Abraham  Lincoln.  [Cheers.]  Here  were 
gathered  in  council  those  gifted  men  who  secured  the  fruits 
of  that  long  struggle  by  elevating  to  the  first  place  in  the 
Nation  the  foremost  chieftain  of  that  great  contest — General 
Grant.  [Cheers.]  Here  was  afterwards  witnessed  that  signal 
triumph  which  anticipated  the  wish  of  the  Nation  by  nominat 
ing  as  color-bearer  of  the  party  that  honored  soldier,  that 
shining  citizen,  that  representative  American,  James  A.  Gar- 
field.  [Long  continued  cheers.]  Every  deliberation  of  Re 
publican  forces  on  this  historic  ground  has  been  followed  by 
signal  success.  [Applause.]  And  every  contest  planned  on 
this  spot  has  carried  forward  our  line  of  battle  until  to-day  our 
banners  overlook  every  position  of  the  enemy. 

Indeed,  so  secure  now  is  the  integrity  of  the  Union,  so  firmly 
embodied  in  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  land  are  the 
safeguards  of  individual  liberty,  so  fairly  and  fully  achieved 
is  the  past,  that  by  general  consent  the  time  has  now  arrived 
for  new  dispositions  of  the  party  forces  in  contemplation  of 
new  lines  of  operation. 

Having  compassed  the  defeat  of  our  opponents  on  all 
former  occasions,  the  party  is  about'  to  set  its  house  in  order 


224  SELECTING  A  PRESIDENT. 

and  take  counsel  as  to  the  direction  and  management  of  its 
future  course.  In  the  comparative  lull  of  party  strife  which 
distinguishes  the  present  condition  of  National  politics,  there 
is  observable  an  increasing  disposition  to  look  after  the  men 
who  are  to  execute  and  the  methods  that  are  to  guide  them 
in  the  execution  of  the  powers  committed  to  them  for  the 
management  of  the  affairs  of  the  Republic. 

As  the  result  of  a  rule  adopted  in  the  last  National  Con 
vention  this  Convention  finds  itself  constituted  by  a  large 
majority  of  gentlemen  who  have  been  clothed  with  delegated 
powers  by  conventions  in  their  several  Congressional  districts. 
On  this  consideration  may  be  grounded  a  hope  that  the  voice 
of  the  people  [applause]  will,  beyond  recent  precedent,  be  felt 
in  moulding  the  work  you  are  summoned  to  perform,  so  that 
its  results  may  be  such  as  to  win  the  unhesitating  and  un- 
deviating  support  of  every  lover  of  those  principles  by  which 
the  party  has  heretofore  triumphed  and  yet  will  triumph. 
[Applause.] 

When  we  consider  the  memories  of  the  past,  so  intimately 
connected  with  this  city,  and  even  with  this  edifice,  which  the 
people  of  Chicago  have  so  generously  placed  at  your  disposal, 
when  we  reflect  upon  the  deep-seated  concern  among  all 
people  in  the  result  of  your  deliberations,  and  the  various  in 
centives  to  the  abandonment  of  personal  ambitions  in  the 
interest  of  the  party  welfare,  you  cannot  wonder  that  the 
committee,  and  beyond  it  the  great  Republican  masses,  extend 
you  a  most  hearty  welcome  to  this  scene  of  labor,  in  the  con 
fident  hope  that  your  efforts  will  result  in  such  an  exposition 
of  Republican  doctrine  and  disclose  such  a  just  appreciation 
of  Republican  men  in  the  choice  of  your  nominees  as  to  re 
joice  the  hearts  of  your  constituents  and  keep  victory  on  the 
side  of  our  ever-victorious  banners.  [Applause.] 

THE  TEMPORARY  CHAIRMANSHIP. 

The  first  contest  of  the  Convention  came  promptly  upon 
the  assembling  of  the  delegates.  Senator  Sabin  concluded 
his  address  thus : 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  22/ 

In  conclusion,  gentlemen,  and  at  the  request  of  the  National 
Republican  Committee,  I  have  to  propose  to  you  as  Temporary 
Chairman  of  this  Convention  the  Hon.  Powell  Clayton,  of 
Arkansas. 

Immediately  Mr.  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts,  a  thin,  youthful 
fellow,  arose  and  said:  Mr.  Chairman,  in  accordance  with  the 
vote  of  the  majority  of  the  committee,  and  in  accordance  with 
the  suggestion  of  the  gentlemen  who  have  presented  the  name 
of  a  gentleman  as  Temporary  Chairman,  it  is  the  right  of  this 
Convention  to  adopt  that  suggestion  or  to  revise  it  if  they  feel 
it  to  be  their  duty  to  do  so.  With  no  view  of  introducing 
any  personal  contest,  with  no  view  to  attempting  to  make  any 
test  vote  as  to  the  strength  of  candidates,  but  simply  with  a 
view  to  making  a  nomination  for  Temporary  Chairman  which 
shall  have  the  best  possible  effect  in  strengthening  the  party 
throughout  the  country,  there  are  many  members  of  this  Con 
vention,  I  believe,  who  feel  that  a  nomination  which  would 
trengthen  the  party  more  could  be  made  than  that  which  has 
been  presented  by  the  National  Committee.  I  therefore  have 
the  honor  to  propose,  as  it  is  certainly  most  desirable  that  we 
should  recognize  as  you  have  done,  Mr.  Chairman,  the  Repub- 
cans  of  the  South  [applause] — I  therefore  desire  to  present 
the  name  of  a  gentleman  well  known  throughout  the  South 
for  his  conspicuous  parliamentary  ability,  for  his  courage,  and 
lis  character.  I  move  you,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  substitute  the 
lame  of  the  Hon.  John  R.  Lynch,  of  Mississippi.  [Loud 
ipplause.] 

The  motion  was  promptly  seconded. 

Mr.  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts — I  ask  that  in  taking  the  vote 
:he  roll  may  be  called  on  that  question. 

The  Chairman — Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  you  hear  the 
notion  for  a  substitution  of  the  name  of  John  R.  Lynch,  of 
Mississippi,  and  on  that  motion  a  call  of  the  roll  is  demanded. 


228  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

Mr.  Butcher,  of  New  York — I  desire  to  heartily  second  the 
nomination  of  John  R.  Lynch,  of  Mississippi.  [Applause.] 
And  move  that  the  roll  be  called,  and  that  the  delegates  ex 
press  their  choice  for  either  of  the  men  presented. 

The  Chairman — The  roll  will  be  called  by  the  Secretary. 
As  their  names  are  called  by  States  the  gentlemen  will  rise 
in  their  seats  announcing  the  gentleman  whom  they  desire  to 
vote  for  as  Temporary  Chairman  of  this  Convention. 

Mr.  Morrow,  of  California — Before  you  proceed  to  call  the 
roll  of  States  I  desire  to  suggest  that  it  appears  to  me  that  it 
is  proper  that  we  should  proceed  with  deliberation  in  these 
preliminary  proceedings  in  the  formation  of  this  Convention. 
I  believe  it  to  be  a  fact  that  for  over  forty  years  it  has  been 
the  practice  for  the  National  Committee  to  name  to  the  National 
Convention  the  name  of  some  gentleman  who  could  act  as 
Temporary  Chairman.  [Applause.]  That  practice  has  grown 
to  be  the  common  law  of  political  parties  in  this  country. 
[Applause.]  Besides,  I  desire  to  say,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  it 
seems  to  me  inappropriate  on  this  great  occasion,  when  we 
are  proposing  to  start  with  unanimity  and  with  courage  and 
lay  the  foundation  of  a  campaign  that  shall  lead  to  victory, 
for  us  to  commence  here  on  this  floor  with  the  suggestion  of 
the  possibility  that  there  should  be  any  division  with  respect 
to  so  simple  a  question.  The  National  Committee,  represent 
ing  the  great  Republican  party  of  this  country,  in  its  wisdom 
has  elected  the  gentleman  from  Arkansas  to  act  as  Temporary 
Chairman  of  this  Convention.  I  have  faith  in  the  integrity  of 
this  Convention.  I  have  faith  in  the  integrity  and  wisdom  of 
that  National  Committee  in  their  choice.  [Applause.]  And 
I  do  not  think  that  this  Convention  is  prepared  to  reverse  the 
precedent  of  over  forty  years  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a 
contest  in  this  preliminary  matter. 


SELECTING   A   PRESIDENT. 

Mr.  Chairman,  allow  me  to  suggest  that  we  should  take 
counsel  from  the  wisdom  of  those  heroes  of  the  party  who 
heretofore  in  these  conventions  have  suggested  and  under 
their  guiding  wisdom  have  formed  these  conventions  in  their 
preliminary  matters  with  entire  harmony  and  with  entire  success. 
We  come  here  from  all  parts  of  this  country  with  our  sepa 
rate  views  and  advocating  certain  principles,  and  we  come  to 
this  altar  and  lay  them  down,  and  say  that  whatever  may  be 
the  judgment  of  this  Convention  upon  the  great  principles  of 
the  country,  let  them  be  determined  and  we  will  go  home  and 
we  will  carry  your  judgment  to  our  respective  sections  of  the 
country,  and  we  will  carry  them  forward  to  victory  and  to 
success.  [Applause.] 

Now,  let  us  sustain  the  National  Committee  in  this  thing 
[cheers],  which  I  tell  you,  gentlemen,  is  for  the  success  and 
harmony  of  the  Republican  party  of  this  country.  [Loud 
applause.] 

There  were  calls  for  "  Curtis,  of  New  York,"  who  rose 
amid  loud  and  continuous  applause  and  said : 

Mr.  Chairman,  this  is  the  supreme  council  of  the  Repub 
lican  party.  Here  at  this  moment,  sir,  American  citizens  pro 
fessing  the  Republican  faith  are  met  to  open  the  great  Repub 
lican  campaign  of  1884,  which,  sir,  by  the  grace  of  God,  and 
by  the  true  heart  of  the  Republican  party,  shall  be  like  those 
other  campaigns  to  which  you  have  so  well  and  fitly  alluded. 
Now,  sir,  what  is  done  in  the  question  now  raised  before  this 
Convention  is  to  be  the  first  act  done  by  the  Republican  party 
in  that  great  campaign,  and  by  that  act,  believe  me,  the  peo 
ple  of  this  country  will  judge  the  purpose  and  the  spirit  of  the 
Republican  party.  [Cheers.] 

Unquestionably  it  has  been  the  usual  practice,  as  the  gentle- 
.man  from  California  has  said,  that  the  nomination  of  the  Tem- 
14 


23O  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

porary  Chairman  made  by  the  National  Committee  should  be 
ratified  by  the  Convention  itself.  But  the  spirit  of  the  nom 
ination  made  to  this  Convention  is  in  a  spirit  of  recognition  of 
Southern  Republicans  [applause  and  cheers],  and  when,  sir, 
this  convention,  without  in  the  slightest  degree  impugning  the 
purpose  or  the  authority  of  that  committee  within  its  power, 
proceeds  to  exercise  its  own  unquestionable  right  to  be  judged 
in  the  first  act  of  the  campaign  by  its  own  unquestionable  and 
responsible  action,  then,  sir,  this  „ Convention  may  rightfully 
and  with  perfect  respect  reconsider  the  nomination  which  has 
been  submitted.  [Cheers.] 

In  the  person  of  Mr.  Lynch  we  offer  you  a  representative 
of  those  people  who  in  great  part  and  at  unspeakable  cost 
constitute  the  Republican  party  of  the  South — [applause  and 
cheers] — in  himself  a  man  who  justifies  the  friendship  and  the 
devotion  of  the  Republican  party  and  the  citizens  that  he  rep 
resents  ;  in  himself,  sir,  a  candidate  such  as  this  Convention 
will  naturally  seek  without  any  imputation  upon  any  gentle 
man  who  maybe  submitted;  in  himself  a  candidate  of  whom 
every  Republican  may  be  justly  proud,  and  for  whom  in  voting, 
as  I  believe,  sir,  every  Republican  in  this  hall  in  the  depths  of 
his  own  consciousness  at  this  moment  knows  and  responds  to 
the  expectation,  and  the  demand,  and  the  hope  of  the  great 
Republican  masses  of  the  country,  whose  eyes  are  at  this 
moment  fixed  upon  this  hall  and  who  are  watching  to  hear 
that  the  first  act  of  the  Republican  Convention  of  1884  shall 
be  an  act  which  every  one  of  us  will  glory  to  defend  upon  the 
stump,  and  to  which  the  Republican  heart-of  the  country  will 
respond  with  a  shout  of  victory.  [Applause  and  cheers.] 

Judge  Drummond,  of  Maine — I  desire  to  take  up  a  momei 
of  the  time  of  this  Convention,  and  yet  I  desire  to  say  that  n< 
one  in  Massachusetts  or  New  York  has  a  higher  regard  fc 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  23! 

the  Republicans  of  the  South  represented  by  the  gentleman 

placed  in  nomination  by  my  friend  from  Massachusetts  than  I 

have  myself  and  my  fellow-delegates  from  the  State  of  Maine. 

'Applause.]     But,  sir,  it  strikes  me  that  the  recognition  of  this 

orinciple  ought  not  to  be  brought  forward  at  this  Convention 

t  this  time  for  the  first  time.     At  this  time  for  the  first  mo- 

Tient  is  this  matter  brought  forward.     If  we  can  trust  the  re- 

orts  of  the  public  press  in  relation  to  the  proceedings  of  the 

National  Committee,  the  name  of  the  distinguished  gentleman 

rom    Mississippi   was    not    presented    to    that    committee. 

Applause.]     But  it  is  presented  now  for  the  first  time ;  and 

say,  sir,  that  we  who  support  the  nominee  of  the  National 

Committee  must  not  ever  be  charged  with  the  slightest  disre- 

pect  or  the  slightest  want  of  appreciation  of  the  Republicans 

>f  the  South  or  the 'particular  class  which  is  represented  by 

he  gentleman  who  has  been  placed  in  nomination.     But,  sir, 

have  but  one  further  suggestion.     I  understood  the  Chair  to 

ay  that  the  roll  of  delegates — each  individual  delegate — was 

o  be  called,  and  I   propose  to  move  that  instead  of  that  the 

oil   of  States  be   called,  that  each   State  may  announce  its 

'ote.     [Cries  of  "No!"]     Am  I  right  in  my  understanding 

f  this  ?     If  so,  I  move  that  when  the  vote  is  taken  it  may  be 

aken  by  call  of  the  roll  of  States. 

The  Chairman — In  the  absence  of  any  parliamentary  rules 
governing  this  body  the  rules  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
vill  be  followed  as  closely  as  possible.       It  is  evident  to  the 
3hair  that  at  least  one-fifth  of  this  body  desire  the  call  of  the 
oil,  and  we  will  proceed  to  that  call ;  if  so  demanded  the  roll 
>f  delegates  will  be  called  at  the  proper  time. 
A  delegate — I  move  that  the  roll  of  delegates  be  called. 
The  Chairman — The  Chair  would  rule  that  the  motion  is 
ut  of  order. 


232  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

Mr.  Stewart,  of  Pennsylvania — I  make  no  dissension,  M 
Chairman,  from  the  position  taken  by  the  distinguished  gentl 
man  from  New  York  (Mr.  Curtis),  that  this,  the  supren 
council  of  the  Republican  party,  has  it  within  its  power 
make  this  the  action  of  this  body ;  but  I  rise  to  question  tl 
expediency  of  any  such  desire.  Nothing  short  of  somethir 
which  would  offend  the  dignity  and  which  would  compromi 
the  honor  of  the  Republican  party  will  justify  this  Conventi( 
in  putting  that  stigma  upon  their  National  executive  bod 
[Great  applause.]  The  proposition  of  the  gentleman  fro 
Massachusetts  involves  the  violation  of  an  established  prec 
dent  of  this  party.  [Applause.]  Upon  what  ground  is 
demanded?  That  one  is  more  worthy  than  the  other?  N 
at  all.  I  know  nothing  of  the  private  record  of  either  of  the 
distinguished  gentlemen.  I  do  know  something  of  th< 
official  record  and  that  which  is  public  and  written  in  the  lig 
of  day.  I  do  know  that  he  who  has  been  nominated  by  tl 
Executive  Committee  of  this  party  has  rendered  to  his  count 
distinguished  services  upon  the  field  of  battle.  [Great  a 
plause.]  No  man  assails  his  worth.  Why  then  deny 
reject  the  action  of  your  committee  ?  This  Convention  w 
not  listen  to  the  noise  of  acclamation  or  personal  animositi< 
This  Convention  arises  to  an  appreciation  of  the  high  respon: 
bility  resting  upon  it,  and  will  ratify  the  action  of  its  coi 
mittee  and  voice  the  sentiment  of  the  Republican  party  of  t! 
United  States.  [Applause.] 

Mr.  Horr,  of  Michigan — Mr.  Chairman:  I  rise  for  the  pi 
pose  of  seconding  the  motion  of  the  gentleman  from  Main 
if  he  made  such  a  motion — and  I  understood  that  he  did- 
that  we  proceed  to  settle  this  question  by  call  of  the  State 
Let  me  explain  why.  It  takes  over  two  hours  to  call  ar 
receive  the  votes  of  820  men  called  in  their  consecutive  ordt 


SELECTING  A    PRESIDENT.  233 

Cries  of  "  Roll-call !  "]  If  you  call  the  votes  by  States  each 
tate  is  at  work  making  its  vote  all  at  the  same  time,  and  we 
an  do  in  thirty  minutes  what  we  cannot  do  in  the  other  form 
i  an  hour  and  a  half;  and  it  certainly  can  make  no  difference 
i  the  result,  because,  the  question  being  before  this  Conven- 
on,  each  man  is  going  to  vote  his  privilege,  his  convictions, 
rhether  he  votes  when  his  name  is  called  by  the  Secretary  or 
y  the  Chairman  of  the  State.  Now,  in  the  matter  of  economy 
f  time,  I  move,  sir,  that  the  roll  be  called  by  States,  per- 
litting  each  State  to  collect  its  vote  and  announce  it  to  the 
hair. 

Gen.  Ben  M.  Prentiss,  of  Missouri — Mr.  Chairman :  I  rise 
>r  a  particular  purpose.  I  know  not  the  object  of  this  motion 

ignore  the  action  of  the  National  Committee.  I  understand 
lat  they  have  recommended  to  this  Convention  an  old  com- 
ide  of  mine,  Gen.  Powell  Clayton,  of  Arkansas.  I  wish  to 
I  entertain  the  idea  that  a  refusal  to  indorse  the  recom- 
lendation  of  our  National  Committee  goes  forth  to  the 
American  Republic  as  a  stigma  upon  a  man,  and  I  am  not 
ailing  to  remain  silent  while  I  know  his  conduct.  I  know 
im  as  a  citizen ;  I  know  him  as  a  soldier;  I  have  known  him 
s  a  friend  of  the  men  a  representative  of  whom  has  been 
ominated  for  the  position  of  Temporary  Chairman.  I  rise 
i  this  Convention  to  say,  gentlemen,  be  careful  how  you 
tigmatize  a  man  placed  before  you  by  the  National  Committee, 
'owell  Clayton  carries  the  mark  of  his  loyalty  to  the  flag  to 
ay.  [Applause.]  He  is  a  Southern  Republican,  and  you 
ecognize  the  Southern  Republicans  by  electing  him  your 
temporary  Chairman.  Go  slow,  gentlemen ;  but  if  you  seek 
y  your  efforts  to  displace  him  from  that  platform,  you  seek 
o  do  that  which  ought  not  to  be  done,  and  you  will  not  suc- 
eed  in  placing  there  a  more  fitting  servant  than  Powell  Clay- 
on,  of  Arkansas.  [Applause.] 


234  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

Mr.  Roosevelt,  of  New  York — Mr.  Chairman :  I  trust  tha 
the  motion  made  by  the  gentleman  from  Minnesota  will  b 
defeated,  and  that  we  will  select  as  Chairman  of  this  Conven 
tion  that  representative  Republican,  Mr.  Lynch,  of  Mississipp 
Mr,  Chairman,  it  has  been  said  by  the  distinguished  gentlema: 
from  Pennsylvania  that  it  is  without  precedent  to  reverse  th 
action  of  the  National  Committee.  Who  has  not  knowi 
numerous  instances  where  the  action  of  a  State  Committe 
has  been  reversed  by  the  State  Conventions  ?  Not  one  of  u 
but  has  known  such  instances.  Now  there  are,  as  I  understan< 
it,  but  two  delegates  to  this  Convention  who  have  seats  on  th 
National  Committee,  and  I  hold  it  to  be  derogatory  to  on 
honor,  to  our  capacity  for  self  government,  to  say  that  w< 
must  accept  the  nomination  of  another  body  and  that  ou 
hands  are  tied  and  we  dare  not  reverse  its  action.  [Applause. 

Now,  one  word  more.  I  trust  that  the  vote  will  be  takei 
by  individual  members  and  not  by  States.  Let  each  mai 
stand  accountable  to  those  whom  he  represents  for  his  vote 
[Applause.]  Let  no  man  be  able  to  shelter  himself  behin< 
the  shield  of  his  State.  [Applause.]  What  we  say  is  tha 
one  of  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  the  American  political  gov 
crnment  is  the  accountability  of  each  man  to  his  people;  am 
let  each  man  stand  up  here  and  cast  his  vote  and  then  g< 
home  and  abide  by  what  he  has  done.  It  is  now,  Mr.  Chair 
man,  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  since  in  this  city  th< 
great  Republican  party  for  the  first  time  organized  for  victory 
and  nominated  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  who  broke  th< 
fetters  of  the  slave  and  rent  them  asunder  forever.  [Applause.' 

It  is  a  fitting  thing  for  us  to  choose  to  preside  over  this 
Convention  one  of  that  race  whose  right  to  sit  within  these 
walls  is  due  to  the  blood  and  the  treasure  so  lavishly  speni 
by  the  founders  of  the  Republican  party.  [Applause.] 


SELECTING   A   PRESIDENT.  235 

I  trust  that  the  Hon.  Mr.  Lynch  will  be  elected  Temporary 
Chairman  of  this  Convention.  [Applause.] 

Gen.  Clark  E.  Carr,  of  Illinois — Mr.  Chairman :  It  seems  to 
some  gentlemen  sitting  in  the  neighborhood  where  I  am  that 
the  question  to  be  considered  at  this  time  is  whether  or  not 
the  action  of  the  National  Committee  has  been  wise,  prudent, 
and  for  the  best  interests  of  the  Republican  party — whether 
or  no  the  National  Committee  have  selected  a  fit,  proper,  wise 
man  to  be  the  Temporary  Chairman  of  this  Convention.  If 
this  National  Committee  has  failed  in  this  it  is  proper  that  its 
action  should  be  overruled  and  that  another  be  put  in  his 
place.  If  the  National  Committee  has  succeeded  in  this  it  is 
proper  that  the  action  of  the  National  Committee  should  be 
sustained  by  this  Convention.  [Applause.]  The  question  as 
it  comes  to  us — some  of  us  sitting  here — is  whether  Gen. 
Powell  Clayton  is  or  is  not  a  fit  man  to  preside  here.  Some 
of  us  have  known  him  for  many  years.  We  have  known  his 
devotion  to  the  principles  for  which  we  have  fought.  Some 
of  us  have  known  how  much  he  himself  has  done  in  fighting 
the  battles  of  the  free  men  in  this  country.  [Applause.]  Some 
of  us  are  unwilling  that  a  stigma  should  be  placed  upon  his 
great  and  grand  name.  [Applause  and  jeers  from  the  gal 
lery.]  We  know  that  there  are  500  other  men  in  this  Conven 
tion  who  would  be  fit  and  proper  presiding  officers ;  but,  hav 
ing  been  selected  by  this  committee,  we  are  unwilling  that  we 
should  place  a  stigma  upon  Powell  Clayton  at  this  time  by 
voting  against  the  action  of  the  National  Committee.  [Ap 
plause.]  There  are  some  gentlemen  here  from  Illinois  who  do 
not  feel  that  it  would  be  proper  and  right  for  them  to  go  be 
fore  the  world  with  a  candidate  from  a  convention  whose 
action,  the  first  of  all,  had  been  to  put  down  a  man  who 
carries  an  empty  sleeve.  [Applause  and  cheers.] 


236  SELECTING  A  PRESIDENT. 

Mr.  Taft,  of  South  Carolina — Mr.  Chairman :  Had  not 
gentlemen  who  have  spoken  in  behalf  of  the  action  of  the 
National  Committee  put  it  upon  two  grounds  I  would  not  rise 
in  my  seat  and  say  one  word.  The  first  tiling  that  is  said  to 
us  is  that  the  National  Committee  have  done  this  out  of  re 
spect  to  the  Southern  Republicans.  And  again  they  say  that 
we  should  confirm  the  action  because  it  is  the  action  of  the 
National  Committee.  In  the  first  place,  Mr.  Chairman,  if  the 
action  of  the  National  Committee  be  not  in  accord  with  the 
wishes  of  the  majority  of  this  Convention  it  is  not  only  our 
right  but  our  duty  to  ourselves  that  we  reverse  the  action  here 
and  now.  [Applause.]  And  again  it  has  been  said,  Mr. 
Chairman,  and  I  regret  that  it  has  been  injected  into  this  de 
bate,  that  we  are  casting  a  stigma  upon  Powell  Clayton,  of 
Arkansas,  because  he  is  an  old  soldier.  I,  too,  am  an  old  sol 
dier  of  the  Union  army.  [Applause.]  And  we  have  got 
more  of  them  in  the  Southern  delegations;  and  when  you 
come  to  poll  the  vote  you  will  find  that  the  old  soldiers  of  the 
Union  army  who  have  been  in  the  South  in  the  hard  and 
rough  days  of  reconstruction,  in  the  rough  days  when  we 
were  trying  to  get  a  free  ballot  and  a  fair  count,  you  will  find 
their  votes  cast  for  the  Hon.  John  R.  Lynch,  of  Mississippi. 
[Applause.]  Why  do  they  do  it?  We  do  it  because  the 
majority,  and  the  vast  majority,  of  Southern  delegates  upon 
this  floor  believe  that  he  now  truly  represents  the  spirit  of  the 
Republican  party — that  spirit  that  knows  no  breaking,  the 
spirit  that  dare  go  to  the  polls,  shot-gun  or  what  not,  and  vote 
for  the  Republican  party.  [Applause.]  The  question  has 
been  before  this  country  for  a  long  time,  and  when  National 
Conventions  meet  they  put  a  plank  in  their  platform  for  a  free 
ballot  and  a  fair  count.  Only  those  who  live  in  the  South 
know  what  that  means.  "A  free  ballot  and  a  fair  count" 


SELECTING   A   PRESIDENT.  237 

means  a  great  many  things  to  us.  It  means  our  homes,  our 
safety,  our  lives ;  and  John  R.  Lynch,  of  Mississippi,  repre 
sents  that,  and  we  as  Southern  delegates  will  stand  by  him 
and  support  him  for  that  reason.  [Applause.] 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  don't  think  it  will  be  throwing  any  slur 
upon  the  National  Committee.  That  committee  is  not  entirely 
composed  of  delegates  upon  this  floor,  and  if  it  were  they 
could  more  fully  voice  the  sentiment  of  this  Convention,  in  my 
opinion,  than  they  have  done.  The  committee  have  put  it 
upon  the  ground  that  they  want  to  recognize  Southern  Repub 
licans.  We  as  Southern  Republicans  say  to  this  National 
Convention  if  it  wishes  to  truly  honor  and  give  us  some 
recognition,  vote  for  the  Hon.  John  R.  Lynch,  of  Mississippi. 
[Applause.] 

Mr.  Winston,  of  North  Carolina — Mr.  Chairman,  if  I  under 
stand  the  action  of  this  committee  it  has  no  more  force  than 
a  mere  recommendation  to  this  body.  As  such,  and  appre 
ciating  that  recommendation,  as  a  Southern  Republican  I  have 
a  right  to  say,  with  all  courtesy  to  the  committee,  I  prefer 
somebody  else.  I  take  it  that — with  the  best  of  feeling — this 
Convention  has  the  same  right  to  decide  who  shall  preside  over 
its  deliberations.  Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  this  is  not  the  time  to 
engender  a  bad  spirit  here ;  but,  sir,  the  plea  has  been  made 
that  Mr.  Clayton  is  a  soldier.  I  honor  him  that  he  has  fought 
under  the  flag  of  liberty ;  but,  sir,  I  remember  that  there  are 
three  millions  of  Southern  black  Republicans,  inhabitants  of 
this  country,  who  have  no  voice  here  except  what  we  are  about 
to  give  them  this  day.  And,  sir,  the  men  of  Copiah  and  Dan 
ville  and  many  other  places  appeal  to  this  Convention,  and  will 
not  appeal  in  vain. 

Mr.  Chairman,  this  is  a  simple  matter.  There  is  a  great  to- 
do  kicked  up  here  to-day.  Why  haven't  we  the  right  to  de- 


238  SELECTING  A  PRESIDENT. 

cide  whom  we  want  for  Chairman  ?  I  say,  gentlemen,  I  pro 
pose  to  cast  my  vote  for  the  distinguished  gentleman  from  the 
great  Southern  State  of  Mississippi.  [Applause.] 

Mr.  Green,  of  Maryland — Mr.  Chairman — 

The  Chairman — The  gentleman  will  suspend  for  one  mo 
ment.  The  Chair  desires  to  state  that  on  this  matter  being 
presented  to  him  a  short  time  since  he  felt  called  upon  to  call 
to  his  assistance  some  of  the  very  best  parliamentary  talent  in 
the  country,  and  I  present  the  ruling,  which  I  will  now  read 
you,  by  the  Chairman  of  the  last  National  Republican  Con 
vention,  that  able  parliamentarian,  that  distinguished  jurist, 
Senator  Hoar,  of  Massachusetts.  In  this  ruling  he  took  the 
position  which  we  feel  called  upon  to  assume  and  maintain  at 
this  time.  It  reads  as  follows :  "  The  Chair  supposes  that  in 
the  absence  of  any  rule  the  method  of  taking  the  question 
rests  in  the  sound  discretion  of  the  Chair,  subject,  of  course, 
to  the  order  of  the  Convention,"  etc. 

The  Chair  would  state  that  this  is  emphatically  a  convention 
of  the  people,  and  that  every  citizen  representing  a  seat  on 
this  floor  has  the  undoubted  right  to  a  free  expression  of  his 
opinions  and  a  right  to  have  that  expression  so  recorded. 
[Applause.]  The  Chair  will  therefore,  after  a  reasonable  de 
bate — and  in  this  respect  will  not  assume  to  follow  any  arbi 
trary  rule,  but  to  give  the  utmost  liberality  and  latitude  to 
debate — call  for  the  roll  by  individuals — by  delegates.  The 
gentleman  from  Maryland  has  the  floor. 

Mr.  Green,  of  Maryland — Now  that  this  Convention,  after 
a  long  public  discussion  and  public  expectation,  has  reached 
this  culminating  hour  of  its  purpose ;  now  that  there  comes  a 
lull,  a  throbbing  of  bating  breath  in  the  further  conduct  and 
purpose  of  our  proceedings ;  standing  as  we  do  in  the  pres 
ence  of  the  whole  land,  the  congregated  millions  of  citizens 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  239 

of  this  Republic  have  halted  to  catch  with  bated  breath  the 
further  progress  and  purpose  of  our  proceedings;  it  is 
eminently  proper  that  we  should  proceed  deliberately  and  in 
order ;  and  I  submit,  sir,  that  we  should  take  abundant  time 
upon  a  question  like  this  to  give  it  full  and  free  discussion. 
Speaking  for  myself,  for  a  Republican  district  in  a  border 
State,  on  the  southern  side  of  that  line  once  so  fiercely  con 
tended  for ;  speaking  for  Southern  Republicans  and  in  behalf 
of  a  constituency  made  up  of  native  and  foreigner,  Northerner 
and  Southerner,  Confederate  and  Federal,  white  men  and 
black  men,  I  say  in  their  behalf  that  the  voice  of  my  district 
will  approve  me  in  sustaining  John  R.  Lynch  as  a  proper  can 
didate  for  Chairman  of  this  Convention.  [Applause.] 

Mr.  Chairman,  in  saying  this  I  abate  not  one  jot  or  tittle  of 
my  regard  for  the  men  who  carried  that  flag  for  four  years 
through  the  fierce  conflict  of  battle.  There  is  no  memory  or 
association  that  will  ever  be  dearer  to  me  than  the  memory 
that  I  touched  elbows  and  shouldered  muskets  with  those  of 
vanished  columns  whose  potent  influence  upon  the  age  and 
the  Nation  shall  never  break  rank.  I  remember  our  Generals 
and  our  privates.  I  have  respect  and  love  for  those  men  that 
led  and  commanded  and  won  their  fame  and  their  name ;  but 
nearer  and  dearer  to  me  is  my  memory  of  the  dusty,  and 
weary,  and  wounded  columns  that  were  commanded,  and 
obeyed.  Now  those  scattered  over  Southern  soil,  shoulder  to 
shoulder  with  the  colored  men  and  Southern  Republicans, 
will  indorse  the  man  who  is  a  representative  of  that  people 
that  make  up  the  great  bulk  of  the  party,  the  bone  and  sinew 
of  the  Republican  party  in  the  Southern  States. 

It  has  been  said  Gen.  Clayton  has  an  empty  sleeve.  I  carry, 
too,  an  empty  sleeve,  and  in  that  there  is  a  chord  of  sym 
pathy  between  us  [applause],  but  I  carry  also  a  heart  in  sym- 


24O  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

pathy  with  the  Republican  party,  and  I  believe  it  to  be  to  their 
best  interest  that  John  R.  Lynch  should  be  selected  as  our 
Temporary  Chairman  here  to-day. 

Mr.  Thurston,  of  Nebraska — Mr.  Chairman,  I  appreciate 
the  fact  that  this  discussion  has  already  wearied  the  patience 
of  this  Convention,  and  yet  I  believe  that  we  can  better  afford 
to  stay  here  for  a  day  or  a  year  raUier  than  an  injustice  shall 
be  done  to  any  man  by  this  Convention.  If  this  Convention  is 
to  overturn  the  action  of  its  National  Committee,  let  it  not  be 
done  under  a  pretext  which  masks  the  real  design.  If  it  be 
true  that  the  spontaneous  expression  of  this  Convention  is  in 
favor  of  recognizing  the  colored  element  of  the  South,  if  that 
be  the  honest  purpose  of  these  gentlemen  as  they  have  hon 
estly  said  to  us,  then  let  the  committee  appointed  by  this  Con 
vention  upon  permanent  organization  voice  it  in  the  election 
of  Mr.  Lynch,  of  Mississippi.  But,  sir,  in  recognizing  that  col 
ored  element,  let  us  also  do  justice  to  that  element  which  made 
it  possible  for  a  colored  man  to  sit  on  the  floor  of  this  Con 
vention.  If  it  be  true  that  there  are  any  just,  wise,  potent, 
overwhelming  reasons  why  the  action  of  the  Republican  Com 
mittee  should  be  disregarded  and  sat  down  upon  by  this  Con 
vention,  let  the  voice  be  heard  where  every  man  has  a  right  to 
be  heard,  before  his  people  and  his  God.  But  on  behalf  of  the 
Western  country  where  from  almost  every  quarter-section  men 
have  proved  their  loyalty  to  the  party  by  carrying  a  musket 
and  following  the  flag,  we  say  we  are  for  Gen.  Clayton,  the 
choice  of  the  National  Committee. 

Mr.  Benjamin,  of  Arkansas — Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen 
of  the  Convention :  It  seems  to  me  that  this  is  a  very 
strange  proceeding.  It  is  an  unusual  one.  It  has  never  been 
attempted  before,  and  now  why  is  it  ?  They  say  they  want  to 
recognize  the  Southern  Republicans ;  that  they  want  to  do 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  24! 

something  for  the  Southern  Republican.  Now,  there  is  one 
thing  I  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  this  Convention  to  in  re 
gard  to  this  candidate  who  is  reported  by  the  committee.  The 
Hon.  Powell  Clayton  in  1868  was  Governor  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  in  history  that  all  over  the 
Southern  States  there  was  organized  what  was  known  as  a 
Ku-Klux-Klan.  There  have  been  killed  more  Southern  Re 
publicans — killed  and  wounded — by  this  Klan  and  others  than 
were  killed  during  the  Mexican  War — than  were  killed  during 
the  War  of  1812.  Now,  what  did  Powell  Clayton  as  Gov 
ernor  do  ?  He  called  out  the  militia  of  the  State  of  Arkansas, 
and  he  overcame  them  so  that  that  was  the  end  of  it  in  that 
State,  and  ever  since  that  time  have  you  heard  anything  of 
any  troubles  from  the  Ku-Klux  in  Arkansas?  No.  You  find 
it  in  every  other  State,  and  had  they  called  out  militia  in 
other  States  at  the  start,  thousands  of  colored  men  who  have 
been  murdered  by  these  men  would  be  able  to  be  here,  and  be 
in  this  Convention,  instead  of  being  in  the  grave.  I  say  he 
has  done  more  to  elevate  the  Southern  cause  of  Republican 
ism  in  the  South  in  this  one  act  alone  than  anything  else  that 
was  ever  done  by  any  Southern  Republican. 

I  do  not  have  one  word  to  say  against  Mr.  Lynch.  If  he 
had  been  brought  in  here  by  this  committee  I  would  have  sup 
ported  him.  If  he  should  be  brought  in  by  the  Committee  on 
Permanent  Organization  for  Permanent  Chairman  no  man 
would  support  him  more  cheerfully  than  I  would. 

Mr.  Sheets,  of  Alabama — Mr.  Chairman  :  I  suppose,  sir, 
that  every  man's  mind  is  made  up  on  this  question.  We 
know  that  Mr.  Clayton  was  Governor  of  Arkansas ;  we  know 
that  Mr.  Lynch  was  a  member  of  Congress  from  Mississippi. 

We  know,  sir,  that  they  are  both  nominees  for  Temporary 
Chairman  of  this  Convention,  and  I  think  every  delegate  here 


SELECTING   A   PRESIDENT. 

is  satisfied  and  is  prepared  to  vote,  and,  sir,  in  order  to  cut 
this  matter  short,  I  now  call  the  previous  question. 

The  Chairman — The  previous  question  is  not  to  be  called 
at  this  time,  but  will  order  the  roll  called  by  the  Secretary. 
As  the  names  are  called,  the  gentlemen  will  rise  and  announce 
their  preferences. 

A  delegate — \Yhat  is  the  question  ? 

The  Chairman — As  the  names  are  called  of  the  various 
delegates  the  delegate  will  rise  in  his  seat  and  announce  his 
preference  for  either  Mr.  Lynch  or  Gen.  Clayton. 

The  Secretary  then  began  to  call  the  roll 

Mr.  Foraker,  of  Ohio — We  have  no  rule  now  governing 
this  Convention  that  prevents  the  interruption  of  the  call  of 
the  roll.  Therefore  I  rise  to  inquire  of  the  Chair  by  what 
authority  have  you  dispensed  with  the  motion  which  has  been 
pending,  and  which  has  been  under  discussion,  to  the  effect 
that  the  call  of  the  States  should  be  had  instead  of  calling  the 
members  ?  I  understood  the  ruling.  [Calls  of  order.]  The 
Chair  ruled  this,  as  I  understand —  [Calls  of  order.]  Ji 
moment  The  Chair  made  this  ruling  and  read  it — [calls  of 
order] — that  in  the  absence  of  organization  the  Chair  should 
exercise  a  sound  discretion,  subject  only  to  the  control  of  the 
Convention.  Now  the  Convention  has  asked  to  be  heard  to 
say  whether  or  not  the  discretion  which  the  Chair  intimated 
it  would  exercise  should  control  the  Convention.  We  think 
we  have  a  right  to  vote  upon  that.  ["  Order,  order."] 

The  Chairman — The  Chair  will  announce,  once  for  all,  that 
he  will  recognize  no  gentleman  in  this  Convention  during  the 
roll-call.  [Applause.] 

The  roll  was  then  called  by  the  Secretary,  the  result  being — 
Lynch,  431  ;  Clayton,  387,  as  follows: 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 


243 


THE  SUMMARY. 


Clay- 
States.                                   Lynch.  ton. 

Alabama 19  I 

Arkansas I  13 

California I  15 

Colorado 6 

Connecticut 6  6 

I  )eiaware I  5 

Florida 7  I 

Georgia 24 

Illinois 16  28 

Indiana 10  20 

Iowa 3  23 

Kansas '     4  14 

Kentucky 20  6 

Louisiana 13  3 

Maine .' 12 

Maryland 6  10 

Massachusetts 24  4 

Michigan 12  14 

Minnesota 6  8 

Mississippi 16  2 

Missouri 15  17 

Nebraska 2  8 

Nevada 6 

New  Hampshire 8 

New  Jersey 8  IO 

New  York 45  27 


Clay- 
States.                                   Lynch.  ton. 

North  Carolina 18  4 

Ohio 23  23 

Oregon 6 

Pennsylvania 15  44 

Rhode  Island 8 

South  Carolina 18 

Tennessee 21  3 

Texas 12  13 

Vermont 8 

Virginia 20  4 

West  Virginia 12 

Wisconsin 12  10 

Territories. 

Arizona 2 

Dakota 2 

Dist.  of  Columbia I  I 

Idaho 2 

Montana   I  I 

New  Mexico 2 

Utah 2 

Washington . ..        I  I 

Wyoming 2 

Total 431  387 

Majority 44 


Mr.  Lynch  in  assuming  the  chair  spoke  as  follows : 

GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  CONVENTION  :  I  feel  that  I  ought  not 
to  say  that  I  thank  you  for  the  distinguished  honor  which  you 
have  conferred  upon  me,  for  I  do  not.  Nevertheless,  from  a 
standpoint  that  no  patriot  should  fail  to  respond  to  his  country's 
call,  and  fhat  no  loyal  member  of  his  party  should  fail  to 
comply  with  the  demands  of  his  party,  I  yield  with  reluctance 
to  your  decision,  and  assume  the  duties  of  the  position  to 
which  you  have  assigned  me.  [Applause.]  Every  member 
of  this  Convention  who  approached  me  upon  this  subject 
within  the  last  few  hours  knows  that  this  position  was  neither 
expected  nor  desired  by  me.  If,  therefore,  there  is  any  such 
thing  as  a  man  having  honors  thrust  upon  him,  you  have  an 
exemplification  of  it  in  this  instance.  [Applause.] 


244  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

I  wish  to  say,  gentlemen,  that  I  came  to  this  Convention 
not  so  much  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  defeat  of  any 
man,  or  the  success  of  any  man,  but  for  the  purpose  of  con 
tributing  to  the  extent  of  my  vote  and  my  influence  to  make 
Republican  success  in  November  next  an  assured  fact.  [Ap 
plause.]  I  hope  and  believe  that  the  assembled  wisdom  of 
the  Republican  party  of  this  Nation,  through  its  chosen  rep 
resentatives  in  this  hall,  will  so  shape  our  policy  and  will 
present  such  candidates  before  the  American  people  as  will 
make  that  victory  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt.  [Applause.] 

I  wish  to  say,  so  far  as  the  different  candidates  for  the 
Presidential  nomination  are  concerned,  that  I  do  not  wish  any 
gentleman  to  feel  that  my  election  by  your  votes  is  indicative 
of  anything  relative  to  the  preference  of  one  candidate  over 
another.  [Applause.]  I  am  prepared,  and  I  hope  that  every 
member  of  this  Convention  is  prepared,  to  return  to  his  home 
with  an  unmistakable  determination  to  give  the  candidates  of 
this  Convention  a  loyal  and  hearty  support,  whoever  they  may 
be.  [Applause.]  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  I  am  satisfied 
in  my  own  mind  that  when  we  go  before  the  people  of  this 
country  our  action  will  be  ratified,  because  the  great  heart  of 
the  American  people  will  never  consent  for  any  political  party 
to  gain  the  ascendency  in  this  Government  whose  chief  reliance 
for  that  support  is  a  fraudulent  ballot  and  violence  at  the  polls. 
[Applause.]  I  am  satisfied  that  the  people  of  this  country 
are  too  loyal  ever  to  allow  a  man  to  be  inaugurated  President 
of  the  United  States  whose  title  to  the  position  may  be  brought 
forth  in  fraud  and  whose  garments  may  be  saturated  with  the 
innocent  blood  of  hundreds  of  his  countrymen.  [Applause 
and  cheers.]  I  am  satisfied  that  the  American  people  will 
ratify  our  action,  because  they  will  never  consent  to  a  revenue 
system  in  this  Government  otherwise  than  that  which  will  not 
only  raise  the  necessary  revenue  for  its  support,  but  will  also 
be  sufficient  to  protect  every  American  citizen  in  this  country. 
[Applause.] 

Gentlemen,  not  for  myself,  but  perhaps  in  obedience  to 
custom,  I  thank  you  for  the  honor  you  have  conferred  upon 
me.  [Applause.] 


CHAPTER  XII.  ' 

THE  SECOND  DAY — DETAILS  AND  INCIDENTS  OF  TUESDAY — RESOLUTIONS 
AND  BUNCOMBE — MANOEUVRING  FOR  POSITION — THE  PERMANENT  CHAIR 
MAN. 

WHILE  waiting  the  hour  of  fate  our  eyes  wander  rest 
lessly  over  the  building.  Among  the  people  who 
make  up  the  audience,  and  who  sit  in  waiting  for  exploits  of 
mind  and  episodes  of  personal  sensation,  the  present  Conven 
tion  suffers  by  comparison  with  the  last.  The  major  portion 
evidently  lament  the  absence  of  those  giant  minds  that 
gave  majestic  character  and  brilliant  sway  to  the  incidents  of 
a  convention  as  exceptional  as  it  was  impressive,  and  yearn 
for  a  repetition  of  exploits  that  touched  the  savage  in  the  soul. 
Looking  about  they  do  not  see  the  fountains  of  oratory  and 
springs  of  eloquence  that  promise  the  flood  of  inspiration  and 
the  torrent  of  enthusiastic  speech.  The  silver  tongues  of 
national  repute  are  not  among  the  members  now,  and  from  the 
few  who  wear  the  bays  of  reputation  there  have  come  no 
bright  Promethean  sparks  to  give  assurance  of  impassioned 
life  within.  But  there  are  men  who  view  this  convocation  as 
a  field  from  which  to  pluck  the  laurels  of  success,  who  stand 
within  their  golden  tide  of  time  and  feel  the  impulse  to 
endeavor  serving  them.  In  the  slow  grigd  of  unexciting  work 
their  mental  forces  are  employed  shaping  ideas  for  energetic 
use,  and  at  the  fateful  moment,  when  occasion  calls,  perhaps 
15  (245) 


246  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

it  will  be  found  that  frosted  locks  and  long  maintained  su 
premacy  are  not  the  only  guardians  of  soul-awakening  re 
sources.  Besides  the  service  of  their  cause  those  men  have 
just  ambition  to  do  honor  to  themselves,  and  in  the  focus  of 
the  people's  gaze  give  proof  again  that  greatness  is  the  golden 
fruit  of  chance.  The  character  of  the  Convention  grows  in 
estimation  as  it  becomes  familiar;  and  in  these  two  days,  with 
only  formal  matters  under  view,  it  has  been  made  apparent 
that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  latent  power,  in  mind  and  magnet 
ism,  ready  to  leap  into  action,  ready  to  exertkan  influence  to 
thrill,  electrify,  or  startle.  The  spectators  are  not  in  peril  of 
disappointment.  There  is  bright  intelligence  enough  for  the 
keen  retort  and  full  ability  to  meet  the  issues  of  an  hour  when 
eloquence  shall  claim  the  mastery.  The  quick,  spirited, 
though  unimportant,  proceedings  of  yesterday  gave  ample 
evidence  of  this.  Nothing  was  more  admirably  conspicuous 
than  the  alertness  ot  the  conventional  leaders  to  detect  and 
seize  upon  points  that  seemed,  however  vaguely,  to  indicate  a 
hidden  purpose  of  advantage,  and  from  one  of  these  passing 
trifles  grew  out  a  moment's  excitement  that  aroused  the 
assembly  to  eager  watchfulness  of  what  promised  to  be  a  crafty 
tilt  of  words. 

The  Convention  was  called  to  order  at  1 1.18  A.  M.  by  Chair 
man  Lynch,  who,  after  rapping  the  vast  audience  into  silence 
with  his  gavel,  said : 

The  Convention  will  be  opened  with  prayer  by  the  Rev. 
John  H.  Barrows,  of  this  city. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Barrows,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Chicago,  addressed  the  throne  of  grace  as  follows: 

Let  us  unite  in  prayer.  Lord,  Thou  hast  been  our  dwelling- 
place  in  all  generations.  We  bless  Thee,  God  of  our  Fathers, 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  247 

that  thou  hast  dealt  so  graciously  with  this  American  people ; 
that  a  nation  conceived  in  liberty  and  dedicated  to  the  sublime 
truth  that  all  men  are  created  equal,  has  endured  to  this  hour. 
We  praise  Thee  that  Thou  hast  delivered  us  from  dismember 
ment  and  shameful  overthrow.  We  magnify  Thy  name,  O 
King  of  Kings,  and  Ruler  of  mankind,  that  institutions 
founded  upon  the  precepts  of  the  New  Testament,  and  in  which 
there  is  so  much  of  the  life-blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  have  sur 
vived  the  shocks  of  war,  and  the  wastings  of  time  and  corrup 
tion.  And  we  thank  Thee  for  the  vast  moral  and  political 
changes  indicated  by  the  President  here,  who  now  so  watch 
fully  presides  over  this  Convention.  We  thank  Thee,  O  God, 
for  every  service  to  the  cause  of  human  rights  and  good 
government  and  popular  education  rendered  by  the  political 
organization  whose  representatives  are  assembled  here  at  this 
time.  We  thank  Thee  for  the  names  of  Lincoln,  Lovejoy, 
Sumner  and  Garfield ;  names  which  have  been  given  to  the 
incomparable  galaxy  of  human  names  which  have  been  con 
nected  with  the  triumph  of  humanity.  And  we  pray  that  the 
men  of  to-day  may  be  equally  faithful  to  duty.  That  they 
may  be  equal  to  new  occasions  which  may  spring  forth.  May 
the  leaven  of  unrighteousness  be  cast  out  utterly.  God  grant 
that  among  the  people  North  and  South,  East  and  West,  there 
may  not  only  be  a  deepening  sentiment  of  nationality,  but 
also  growing  intelligence,  a  more  vigorous  conscience,  and  a 
strengthening  purpose  that  ignorance  and  folly  shall  not  be 
enacted  into  law.  God  bless  the  union  of  these  impregnable 
States,  and  give  them  the  strength  of  justice  and  peace,  and 
we  pray  that  wisdom  and  prudence  may  govern  the  delibera 
tions  of  this  great  Convention,  overruling  them  for  our  national 
welfare,  and  may  that  favor  which  is  life,  and  that  loving 
kindness  which  is  better  than  life  abide  with  him  who  now 
presides  over  this  body,  and  let  Thy  blessing  rest  on  the  com 
monwealth  and  the  cause  which  he  represents.  And  we  pray 
Thee,  O  God,  that  when  this  Convention  is  dissolved,  it  may 
have  presented  to  the  suffrages  of  the  nation  for  the  highest 
office  in  the  people's  gift,  a  candidate  who  in  personal  char 
acter,  in  devotion  to  duty,  in  loyalty  to  American  institutions, 


SELECTING   A   PRESIDENT. 

in  courage,  in  experience  and  wisdom,  shall  worthily  succeed  to 
the  chair  of  Washington,  and  thus  help  the  nation  to  become 
not  only  more  prosperous  and  peaceful,  but  also  to  be  an  in 
spiration  and  a  blessing  to  the  struggling  peoples  of  mankind, 
and  to  Thy  name  shall  be  the  praise.  Amen. 

The  Chairman — Gentlemen  of  the  Convention :  The  chair 
will  request  gentlemen  when  they  are  recognized  by  the  chair 
to  distinctly  announce  the  name  and  State,  so  that  there  will 
be  no  mistake  made  by  the  reporters. 

Mr.  Gary,  of  Maryland — I  desire  to  present  to  this  Conven 
tion  a  memorial  of  the  Maryland  State  Temperance  Alliance, 
and  I  ask  that  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolu 
tions.  . 

The  Chairman — Very  well;  it  will  be  read  by  the  clerk. 
The  secretary  will  read  the  memorial  presented  by  the  gentle 
man  from  Maryland. 

The  secretary  read  the  resolution  as  follows : 

"The  undersigned,  the  President  and  Secretary  of  the 
Maryland  State  Temperance  Alliance,  as  well  as  the  Central 
Executive  Committee  thereof,  do  hereby  certify  that  the 
following  resolutions  were  passed  by  the  Central  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Maryland  State  Temperance  Alliance  at  a 
regular  meeting  held  on  the  6th  day  of  May,  1884 — 

Mr.  Rosenthal,  of  Texas — I  move  that  the  memorial  be 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  without  reading. 

The  Chair — The  reading  is  not  finished  yet. 

The  clerk  continued  the  reading  of  the  resolutions  as  fol 
lows  : 

Resolved,  i.  By  the  Central  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Maryland  State  Temperance  Alliance,  acting  under  the  advice 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  Maryland  State  Temperance  Al- 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  249 

liance,  and  which  latter  being  the  representative  of  the  tem 
perance  organizations,  churches,  schools  and  all  moral  and 
reform  associations  of  the  State,  that  we  do  hereby  earnestly 
appeal  to  the  Republican  and  Democratic  Conventions  that 
will  nominate  candidates  for  President  of  the  United  States  in 
the  present  year,  1884,  to  adopt  an  article  in  their  platform  of 
principles  distinctly  recognizing  the  right  and  policy  of  the 
people  to  suppress  or  prohibit  by  law  the  liquor  traffic,  and  to 
nominate  candidates  in  accord  with  this  declaration. 

Resolved,  2.  That  the  President  and  Secretary  of  this  Exe 
cutive  Committee  be  directed  to  certify  and  forward  the  above 
resolution,  together  with  a  copy  of  the  resolution  recently 
adopted  by  the  convention  of  the  Maryland  State  Temperance 
Alliance  in  relation  to  the  same  subject,  to  each  of  these 
nominating  conventions  or  the  presiding  officers  thereof. 

And  we  do  further  certify  that  the  following  resolution  was 
passed  at  the  late  annual  meeting  of  the  Maryland  State  Tem 
perance  Alliance,  in  convention  assembled  on  the  i/th  day  of 
April,  1884,  every  county  in  this  State  being  duly  represented 
except  one  therein. 

Resolved,  That  the  question  of  the  suppression  of  the  liquor 
traffic  has  become  one  of  such  vital  political  importance  to  the 
nation  that  to  justify  prohibitionists  of  both  the  Democratic 
and  Republican  parties,  requiring  of  them,  at  their  next 
nominating  convention  for  President  and  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  to  distinctly  and  positively  recognize  this  ques 
tion  in  their  respective  platforms,  and  nominate  candidates 
who  are  in  accord  therewith.  And  if  both  parties  shall  do  so 
we  will  not  make  this  question  a  political  one  in  this  Presiden 
tial  campaign,  or  if  either  party  shall  distinctly  so  do,  and  the 
other  refuse  or  decline,  we  will  cast  our  suffrages  to  the  party 
thus  favoring  this  question  in  preference  to  the  one  refusing, 
regardless  of  our  present  party  affiliations.  But  in  case 
neither  party  shall  recognize  this  question,  we  authorize  the 
Executive  Committee  of  this  alliance  at  the  proper  time  to 
place  in  the  field  an  electoral  prohibitory  ticket  for  the  State 
of  Maryland,  for  the  President  and  Vice-President,  that  shall 
have  been  nominated  by  the  Prohibitory  party  of  the  United 
States  if,  in  their  judgment,  they  deem  it  best  so  to  do. 


2$O  SELECTING   A   PRESIDENT. 

The  Chair — It  will  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolu 
tions. 

Mr.  Massey,  of  Delaware — I  hold  in  hand  a  resolution 
which,  on  behalf  and  by  direction  of  the  unanimous  senti 
ments  of  my  delegation,  I  am  instructed  to  present  to  this 
Convention.  I  ask  permission  to  send  it  to  the  Secretary's 
table  to  be  read,  and  then  I  desire  to  submit  a  motion  for  its 
adoption. 

The  Chair — The  resolution  will  be  read  by  the  Secretary. 

The  resolution  was  read  by  the  Secretary  as  follows : 

WHEREAS,  The  propriety- of  the  adoption  of  such  an  amend 
ment  to  the  Federal  Constitution  as  will  enlarge  the  term  of 
office  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  six  years,  and 
render  the  incumbent  of  that  office  ineligible  to  re-election,  is 
a  subject  well  worthy  of  the  consideration  of  this  Convention 
in  order  that  the  possibilities  of  the  abuse  or  misuse  of  the 
public  patronage  may  be  avoided,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  subject  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Resolutions,  to  the  end  that  it  may  be  duly  considered  and  a 
suitable  deliverance  made  in  that  behalf. 

Mr.  Massey — I  move  the  adoption  of  that  resolution. 
The  Chair — That  is  not  in  order.     The  resolution  will  be 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

Senator  Plumb,  of  Kansas — I  wish  to  offer  a  resolution, 
The  resolution  was  read  by  the  Secretary  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  American  land  should  belong  alone  to  those 
willing  to  assume  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  American 
citizenship.  The  best  interests  of  the  republic  are  with  those 
who  are  bound  to  it  by  the  ties  of  ownership  and  possession 
of  the  soil.  The  system  of  tenant  farming  and  absentee  land 
lordism,  which  has  disturbed  Ireland  and  destroyed  the  peace 
of  Europe,  is  opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  the  fathers  and  has 
no  place  in  the  policy  of  a  republic. 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  251 

The  resolution  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  ResoltK 
tions. 

Mr.  Hawkins,  of  Tennessee,  offered  a  resolution  binding 
every  delegate  to  support  the  nominee  of  the  Convention, 
whoever  he  may  be,  and  he  moved  its  adoption,  calling  for  a 
vote  by  States  on  the  suspension  of  the  rules  to  adopt. 

The  Chair — The  gentleman  from  Tennessee  moves  that  the 
rules  be  suspended  and  that  this  resolution  pass. 

Mr.  Pierce,  of  Massachusetts — I  trust  that  that  resolution 
will  not  pass.  I  come  here  with  the  purpose  that  I  believe 
every  man  has  done,  expecting,  in  good  faith,  to'  support  its 
nominee,  believing  that  this  Convention  will  not  nominate  any 
man  who  will  not  command  the  universal  support  of  the  mem 
bers  of  this  Convention  [Tremendous  applause],  and  by  the 
people  of  the  United  States.  This  matter  has  had  in  the 
past  a  bad  record,  brought  here  when  Garfield  was  nominated, 
and  brought  here  by  the  gentleman  from  New  York,  Mr. 
Conkling — the  late  Mr.  Conkling — and  I  trust  that  this  Con 
vention  will  not  bind  its  conscience  by  a  mere  perfunctory 
resolution. 

Mr.  Winkler,  of  Wisconsin — I  take  it  that  our  presence 
here  is  an  assertion  in  itself  on  the  part  of  every  one  of  us 
that  we  propose  to  support  the  nominee  of  this  Convention. 
[Applause.]  It  needs  no  resolution  in  order  to  enforce  that 
assertion.  [Applause.]  And  it  is  for  that  reason  that  I  am 
opposed  to  adopting  any  resolution  upon  the  subject.  [Cries 
of  "  Good."] 

Mr.  Hawkins,  of  Tennessee — In  offering  that  resolution  I 
did  it  in  good  faith,  and  I  trust  there  is  not  a  delegate  to  be 
found  here  that  is  not  ready  and  willing  to  subscribe  to  that 
resolution,  and  if  there  be  a  delegate  who  is  not  willing  to 
support  tlje  nominee  of  this  Convention  he  surely  ought  not 


252  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

• 

to  be  allowed  to  deliver  his  vote  in  this  Convention.  I  don't 
care  where  he  comes  from,  and  I  know  of  no  harm  that  can 
come  to  a  man  who  is  here  for  the  purpose  of  participating  in 
making  this  nomination,  and  I  know  of  no  harm  that  can 
come  of  indorsing  that  resolution  and  saying  he  is  willing  to 
stand  by  the  nominee  of  this  Convention.  I  ask  that  it  be 
passed.  I  have  heard  whispers  in  the  air  as  to  the  course  of 
some  gentlemen.  I  don't  believe  they  are  true,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  the  world  that  the  Republican  party  stands 
here  to-day  a  unit,  and  determined  to  support  the  nominee  of 
this  Convention,  I  introduce  that  resolution  and  I  now  move 
its  adoption. 

Mr.  Knight,  of  California — Mr.  Chairman,  I  hope  that  that 
resolution  will  pass.  [Applause.]  No  honest  Republican,  no 
man  having  the  good  of  the  great  Republican  party  at  heart 
should  dare  to  stand  on  the  floor  of  this  Convention  and  vote 
down  that  resolution.  [Cheers.]  There  are  already  whisper 
ings  in  the  air  from  men  high  in  the  Republican  party,  or 
that  once  stood  high  in  the  Republican  party,  open  and 
avowedly  declaring  that  they  will  not  support  one  man  if  he 
be  nominated  by  this  Convention,  a  Convention  of  the  most 
intelligent  men  of  this  nation.  That  kind  of  men  we  want  to 
know,  and  the  sooner  they  are  out  of  the  Republican  party 
the  better  it  will  be  for  the  party.  [Cheers.]  Gentlemen  of 
the  Convention,  no  more  enthusiastic  people  are  under  the 
shadow  of  the  American  flag  than  those  in  the  section  that  I 
come  from.  No  more  enthusiastic  people  for  their  candidate 
can  be  found  in  this  Convention,  but  if  he  should  not  be  the 
choice  I  believe  we  would  be  false  to  every  principle  of  the 
Republican  party,  we  would  be  false  to  the  constituency  we 
represent,  we  would  be  false  to  ourselves,  if  we  did  not  abide 
by  the  nominee  of  this  party  of  intelligence.  [Tremendous 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  253 

applause.]  Tell  me  what  reason  can  be  urged  that  these  men, 
gentlemen  of  this  Convention,  selected  alone  for  their  intelli 
gence,  their  patriotism,  their  zeal  in  behalf  of  the  Republican 
party,  shall  not  support  their  nominee.  None  can  be.  There 
fore,  gentlemen  of  this  Convention,  I  hope,  yea  we  insist  from 
the  section  of  the  country  that  we  come  from,  that  this  be 
voted  for,  and  that,  whoever  the  nominee  may  be,  he  will  have 
the  hearty  support  and  the  votes  of  this  Convention,  and  all 
those,  be  they  editors  of  newspapers,  or  conducting  great 
periodical  journals,  who  refuse  to  support  the  nominee,  let 
them  be  branded.  [Tremendous  applause  and  cheers.]  That 
they  not  only  came  here  and  violated  the  implied  faith  that 
was  put  in  them,  but  the  direct  and  honest  convictions  of  this 
Convention  expressed  by  a  direct  vote  upon  the  subject. 

When  Mr.  Knight  took  his  seat  about  seventy-five  delegates 
arose  in  different  parts  of  the  hall,  and  insisted  upon  being 
recognized  by  the  Chair.  The  Chair  refused  to  recognize  any 
of  them,  and  repeatedly  requested  them  to  be  seated.  Re 
luctantly  they  took  their  seats,  and  a  moment  after  the  confu 
sion  had  subsided,  the  Chair  said  : 

The  Chair  recognizes  the  gentleman  from  New  York 
(George  William  Curtis).  Mr.  Curtis  climbed  up  on  his  chair 
and  began  to  speak.  He  said  :  "  Mr.  Chairman,"  but  at  this 
point  loud  calls  came  up  from  all  parts  of  the  house  of  "plat 
form,  platform."  Mr.  Curtis  shook  his  head,  and  retaining 
his  position  on  his  chair,  said :  "  Gentlemen  of  the  Conven 
tion  :  A  Republican  and  a  free  man,  I  came  into  this  Conven 
tion.  By  the  grace  of  God,  a  Republican  and  a  free  man  will 
I  go  out  of  this  Convention.  [Cheers.]  Twenty-four  years 
ago  I  was  here  in  Chicago.  [Applause.]  Twenty-four  years 
ago  I  took  part  with  the  men  of  this  country  who  nominated 
the  man  who  bears  the  most  illustrious  name  in  the  Repub- 


254  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

lican  party,  and  the  brightest  ray  in  whose  halo  of  glory  and 
immortality  is  that  he  was  the  great  emancipator.  [Cheers 
and  cries  of  "  Good !  good."]  In  that  Convention,  sir,  a  reso 
lution  was  offered  in  amendment  of  the  platform.  It  intro 
duced  into  that  platform  certain  words  from  the  Declaration 
of  Independence.  That  was  voted  down  in  that  Convention, 
and  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  of  Ohio,  rose  from  his  seat  and  was 
passing  out  of  the  Convention.  As  he  went  to  pass  by  my 
chair  I  reached  out  my  hand — well-nigh  a  boy,  and  unknown 
to  him — I  said,  "  Sir,  where  are  you  going  ?"  He  said  to  me, 
"  Young  man,  I  am  going  out  of  this  Convention,  for  I  find 
there  is  no  place  in  a  Republican  Convention  for  an  original 
anti-slavery  man  like  me."  Well,  gentlemen,  after  my  talk 
with  him  he  stopped  and  again  took  his  seat,  and  before  the 
Convention  concluded  the  Republican  party  declared  that  no 
word,  no  deed,  no  sign  should  ever  be  made  in  a  Republican 
Convention  that  in  the  slightest  degree  reflected  upon  the 
honor  or  the  loyalty  of  the  men  who  took  part  in  that  Con 
vention  and  their  adhesion  to  liberty.  [Loud  applause.]  The 
gentleman  who  was  last  on  the  floor  dared  any  one  upon  this 
floor  to  vote  against  that  resolution.  I  say  to  him,  in  reply, 
that  the  presentation  of  such  a  resolution  in  such  a  Convention 
as  this  is  a  stigma,  an  insult  upon  every  man  who  stands  here. 
This  question  is  not  a  new  question.  Precisely  the  same  mo 
tion  was  brought  up  at  the  last  Convention,  and  a  man  f;  om 
West  Virginia — I  honor  his  name — that  man  said,  in  the  face  of 
the  roaring  galleries,  and  in  the  face  of  all  this  success,  this 
man  from  Virginia  said,  "  I  am  a  Republican,  and  one  of  those 
who  carries  his  sovereignty  under  his  own  hat."  [Loud  ap 
plause.] 

Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  Mr.  Campbell's  position  in  that  Con 
vention,  the  wise  reflection,  the  after-thought  of  the  Repub- 


SELECTING  A  PRESIDENT.  255 

lican  Convention  •  of  1880,  under  the  lead  of  that  great  im 
mortal  leader  whose  face  fronts  us  there — James  A.  Garfield, 
of  Ohio  [applause],  under  the  lead  of  Garfield,  I  remind  my 
friend  from  California  that  the  Convention,  taking  its  action, 
induced  the  gentlemen  who  presented  the  resolution  to  with 
draw  that  resolution  from  the  consideration  of  the  Conven 
tion.  Now,  sir,  in  the  light  of  the  character  of  the  Repub 
lican  party,  in  the  light  of  the  action  of  the  last  Republican 
Convention,  the  first  Convention  of  which  I  have  known  in 
which  such  pledge  was  required  of  the  members,  I  ask  this 
Convention,  mindful  of  all  that  hangs  upon  the  wisdom,  the 
moderation,  the  tolerance,  and  the  patriotism  of  our  action,  I 
beg  this  Convention  to  remember  Lincoln,  to  remember  Gar- 
field,  to  remember  the  very  vital  principle  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  assume  that  every  man  here  is  an  honest  and  an 
honorable  man,  to  vote  this  resolution,  which  should  never 
have  appeared  in  a  Republican  Convention,  as  unworthy  to 
be  ratified  by  this  concourse  of  freemen  that  I  see  before  me. 
[Applause.] 

The  Chair — The  Chair  will  say  that  the  rules  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  have  been  adopted  for  the  government,  as 
far  as  applicable,  of  this  Convention.  And  under  the  rules  of 
the  House,  or  at  any  rate  under  its  usages  and  customs, 
speeches  are  allowed___t2  be  made  alternately  for^and  against  a 
proposition. 

Mr.  Posey,  of  Indiana — I  desire  to  say  a  few  words  against 
the  resolution. 

The  Chair — Then  the  Chair  would  be  obliged  to  recognize 
some  gentleman  who  desired  to  speak  on  the  other  side.  The 
Chair  thinks  that  is  in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  the 
House  of  Representatives. 

Mr.  Hawkins  asked  that  the  resolution  be  re-read. 


256  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

The  Secretary  then  re-read  the  resolution  as  follows : 

Resolved,  As  the  sense  of  this  Convention,  that  every  mem 
ber  of  it  is  bound  not  only  to  support  its  nominee,  whoever 
that  nominee  may  be,  but  that  no  man  should  hold  a  seat  here 
who  is  not  ready  to  so  agree. 

Mr.  Hawkins  (holding  a  volume  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Convention  of  1880  in  his  hand) — I  desire  to  say  that  James  A. 
Garfield  and  Chester  A.  Arthur  both  voted  for  this  resolution 
in  1880.  As  the  resolution  has  developed  so  much  opposition, 
and  in  the  memory  of  Garfield,  I  withdraw  it.  [Slight  applause.] 

After  some  memorials  and  resolutions  had  been  introduced, 
Mr.  Williams,  of  Indiana,  reported  from  the  Committee  on 
Permanent  Organization  the  name  of  General  John  B.  Hender 
son,  of  St.  Louis,  as  permanent  Chairman.  On  taking  the 
Chair  he  delivered  the  following  speech: 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention :  We  have  assembled  on  this 
occasion  to  survey  the  past  history  of  the  party,  to  rejoice,  as 
we  may,  because  of  the  good  it  has  done,  to  correct  its  errors, 
if  errors  there  be,  to  discover  if  possible  the  wants  for  the 
present,  and  with  patriotic  firmness  provide  for  the  future. 
Gentlemen,  our  past  history  is  :  The  Union  preserved,  slavery 
abolished,  and  its  former  victims  equally  and  honorably  by  our 
sides  in  this  Convention ;  the  public  faith  maintained ;  un 
bounded  credit  at  home  and  abroad;  a  currency  converted 
into  coin,  and  the  pulses  of  industry  throbbing  with  renewed 
help  and  vigor  in  every  section  of  a  prosperous  and  peaceful 
country.  These  arc  the  fruits  of  triumphs  over  adverse  policies 
gained  in  the  military  and  civil  conflicts  of  the  last  twenty- 
four  years.  Out  of  these  conflicts  has  come  a  race  of  heroes 
and  statesmen,  challenging  confidence  and  love  at  home,  re 
spect  and  admiration  abroad.  And  when  we  now  come  to 
select  a  standard-bearer  for  the  approaching  contest  our  em 
barrassment  is  not  in  the  want  but  in  the  multiplicity  of  Presi 
dential  material. 

New  York  has  her  tried  and  true  statesman,  upon  whose 
administration  the  fierce  and"  even  unfriendly  light  of  public 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  257 

scrutiny  has  been  turned,  and  the  universal  verdict  is,  "  Well 
done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant. "  [Loud  applause.] 

Vermont  has  her  great  statesman,  whose  name  is  as  clear 
as  the  crystal  springs  of  his  native  State,  and  whose  virtue  is 
as  firm  as  its  granite  hills.  [Applause.] 

Ohio  can  come  with  a  name  whose  history  is  but  the  history 
of  the  Republican  party.  [Applause.] 

Illinois  can  come  with  a  man  who  never  failed  in  the  dis 
charge  of  public  duty  [applause],  -whether  in  the  council 
chamber  or  upon  the  fields  of  battle.  [Loud  applause.] 

Maine  has  her  favorite,  whose  splendid  ability  and  personal 
qualities  have  endeared  him  to  the  hearts  of  his  friends,  and 
the  brilliancy  of  whose  genius  challenges  the  admiration  of 
all.  [Loud  and  continued  applause.] 

Connecticut  and  Indiana  also  come  with  names  scarcely  less 
illustrious  than  those.  [Applause.]  And  now,  gentlemen, 
in  conclusion  :  If,  because  of  personal  disagreements  among 
us,  for  the  emergencies  of  the  occasion  another  name  is  sought, 
there  yet  remains  that  grand  old  hero  of  Kenesaw  Mountain 
and  Atlanta.  [Applause.]  When  patriotism  calls  he  cannot, 
if  he  would,  be  silent,  but  grasping  that  banner  which  he  has 
already  borne  in  triumph  upon  many  a  bloody  field,  he  would 
march  to  a  civic  victory  no  less  renowned  than  those  of  war. 
Gentlemen,  I  thank  you  for  this  distinguished  mark  of  your 
confidence,  and  will  discharge  the  duties  imposed  at  least 
with  impartiality.  [Applause.] 

After  several  unimportant  resolutions  had  been  read  the 
Convention  adjourned  until  7  P.  M.  On  reassembling  some 
further  unimportant  work  was  done,  and  the  Committee  on 
Credentials  not  being  ready  to  report,  the  Convention  again 
adjourned  until  the  next  day  at  eleven  o'clock.  The  vast 
audience,  however,  refusing  to  go  out,  it  was  resolved  into  a 
mass-meeting  and  speeches  were  made  by  several  distinguished 
people. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE    THIRD    DAY  —  NOMINATIONS  —  SPEAKING  FOR  THE    FAVORITES  —  TH\, 
PLATFORM  —  GREAT  ENTHUSIASM  —  THE  ROARS  OF  THE  GALLERIES. 


INHERE  was  scarcely  a  question  raised  that  did  not  stir 
the  assembly  into  demonstration,  and  now  and  then 
some  flaming  brilliancy  of  speech  or  lofty  grace  of  sentiment, 
or  bold,  heroic  stroke  loosed  enthusiasm  to  its  wildest  flight 
There  is  a  vast  quantity  of  suppressed  ecstacy  in  this  Con 
vention,  and  it  is  quite  ready  to  effervesce  with  the  slightest 
juggling  of  encouragement,  and  when  a  marked  occasion 
came  along  it  was  hailed  as  a  safety-valve  of  fervor,  and 
through  it  were  forced  the  dangerous,  fermenting  gases  of  the 
Ustless  moments  when  dull  monotony  starved  inspiration.  It 
seemed  as  if  the  delegates  were  making  them  ready  to  do  full 
justice  to  the  office  of  vocal  rapture  when  the  exhilarating 
epics  of  the  nominating  speeches  should  be  heard.  The 
eagerness  with  which  the  members  seized  upon  a  chance  to 
wrangle  with  loyalty  and  wrestle  with  patriotic  zeal  was  mani 
fest  in  the  energy  that  characterized  a  long  debate  upon  the 
syntax  of  resolutions.  It  was  a  veritable  war  of  words  upon 
the  rules  reported,  as  fierce  and  hotly  urged  as  the  famous 
battle  of  the  books,  and  though  the  points  were  excellently 
taken  or  skilfully  dismissed,  the  "  Tales  of  a  Tub  "  have  not 
more  deep,  satiric  elements  than  were  reflected  from  an  entire 
session  given  over  to  aspersing  the  integrity  of  language. 
Had  there  not  been  caustic  interruptions  now  and  then,  with 


SELECTING  A  PRESIDENT. 


26l 


intervals  of  ardent  emotions  set  in  play,  the  vast  audience,  the 
largest  of  the  week,  might  have  found  the  proceedings  duller 
than  significant.  The  first  excitation  occurred  when  the  Com 
mittee  on  Credentials  reporting  mentioned  the  name  of  General 
Mahone  as  the  Chairman  of  the  recognized  Virginia  delegation. 
This  name  has  invariably  been  a  touchstone  in  the  Convention, 
and  never  has  it  been  spoken  above  discretious  whisper  with 
out  a  royal  recognition  from  the  house.  Now  knowing  what 
action  had  been  taken  on  disputed  claims,  the  listening  body 
was  very  quick  to  do  the  opportunity  full  service,  and  with 
the  name  there  went  up  a  cheer  that  was  repeated  on  the  an 
nouncement  of  the  decision,  and  rounded  the  adoption  of  the 
report  with  a  vehemence  that  left  no  doubt  how  great  appre 
ciation  interested  members  felt  in  having  this  important  faction 
counted  in.  While  this  business  was  going  on  the  hall  was 
filling  up,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  long  report  there  was 
nowhere  to  be  seen  a  vacant  seat. 


PLAN  OF  CONVENTION   HALL. 


The  view  was  very  picturesque.  The  white  pine  boarding 
was  shut  out  from  sight  by  the  close  packed  multitude,  and 
across  the  ample  stretch  of  space  the  eye  could  not  detect  the 
slight  dividirtg  lines  that  marked  the  segregation  of  the 


202  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

audience  and  members  of  the  great  Convention.  The  mass, 
indeed,  seemed  homogeneous,  a  multivertibrat,  hydra-headed 
body  obeying  the  one  impulse  of  motion,  coming  from  the 
illusion  of  oneness,  only  the  view  was  narrowed  toward  the 
foreground.  Had  the  thing  been  one  in  sentiment  and  voice 
as  in  material  appearance  the  huge  concussion  of  its  single 
shout  might  well  have  shattered  the  environments  of  doubl 
and  partial  prejudice  that  make  conventions  long.  But  the 
audience  were  not  without  its  entertainment  yesterday.  The 
delegates  played  an  interesting  part,  engaging  more  performers 
than  at  any  other  time,  proving  that  there  is  eloquence  and 
power  in  plenty  stored  among  the  members  of  this  body. 
The  ball  was  set  in  motion  by  a  radical  thinker  from  the  Blue 
Grass  region.  He  arose  in  a  moment  of  confusion,  when 
many  others  claimed  the  floor,  to  answer  the  proposition  of 
the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  touching  the  apportion 
ment  by  States  of  delegates  to  the  next  Convention.  To  the 
Northern  members  this  plan  of  arrangement,  which  was  a 
minority  report,  by  the  way,  seemed  to  present  some  excellent 
advantages,  and  there  was  a  very  earnest  approbation  in  ap 
plause,  from  a  considerable  portion  of  the  body,  when  the  re 
commendation  was  read.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  this  demon 
stration  that  Mr.  Bradley,  of  Kentucky,  got  the  acknowledging 
nod  of  the  Chairman.  Thus  recognized,  his  eager,  confident 
look  for  a  moment  departed,  and  he  seemed  an  instant  con 
fused  as  though  he  had  not  fully  expected  to  be  recognized 
against  so  large  a  clamor  for  the  cue  to  speak.  But  the  hesi 
tation  proved  to  be  only  the  massing  of  mental  powers  for  a 
grand  attack.  The  sentiment  within  the  man  leaped  out  in  a 
volume  of  speech  that  never  faltered  for  a  word,  a  flood  of 
hearty  eloquence  too  genuine  to  trip  upon  a  halting  tongue; 
and  when  he  made  demand  with  half  prophetic  threat 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  20; 

every  State  should  have  its  just  equality  maintained,  the 
shackeled  South  received  as  fully  as  the  independent  North 
the  shock  of  long,  enthusiastic  cheers  and  shouts  drowned  out 
the  feeble  hiss  of  thoughtless  opposition.  Barely  had  the 
last  word  of  the  speaker  been  faintly  heard  through  the  mur 
mur  of  ill-subdued  expectancy  than  a  hundred  delegates 
leaped  to  their  feet  with  a  united  chorus  to  attract  the  Chair, 
black  men  and  white  men  straining  their  voices  and  gesticu 
lating  as  though  the  destiny  of  the  nation  were  trembling  in 
the  balance  and  each  were  the  chosen  saviour.  The  scene 
was  one  of  wild  confusion.  The  gavel  of  the  Chairman 
pounded  lustily  upon  the  desk  was  but  the  patter  of  an  in 
fant's  toy,  and  the  cry  for  order,  hoarsely  muffled  as  it  was, 
could  make  no  way  against  the  noise  below.  Suddenly  the 
delegates  subsided,  impelled  to  quiet  by  the  motions  rather 
than  the  rapping  of  the  Chairman.  But  almost  instantly  there 
burst  forth  a  call  for  Lynch  that  redoubled  the  former  dis 
order.  But  Lynch  did  not  immediately  respond,  and  other 
speakers  were  recognized  ahead  of  him,  all  of  whom,  with 
patriotic  fire,  warmed  by  the  excitement  of  the  scene,  spoke 
in  undisguised  hostility  against  the  resolution.  Among  these 
was  Judge  West,  of  Ohio,  who,  tall  and  slim  of  figure,  with 
peculiarly  touched  iron-gray  hair  and  beard,  and  the  sadly 
uncertain  eyes  from  which  had  gone  the  gleam  and  brilliancy 
of  sight,  raised  his  strident  voice  that  seemed  half  tempered 
to  appeal,  in  strong  protest  against  a  measure  that  threatened 
entirely  to  strip  of  political  rights  a  people  already  wronged  to 
infamy  in  that  respect.  The  negro  statesman  from  Mississippi 
was  again  called  for,  and  this  time  with  such  a  persistence  that 
he  mounted  upon  his  chair  and  turned  his  face  to  the  great 
body  of  the  Convention.  One  universal  cheer,  as  generous  as 
genera^  rewarded  him,  and  then  there  was  a  silence  more  per- 
16 


264  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

feet  than  at  any  other  time  of  the  session.  Here  was  pre 
sented  one  of  the  most  striking  and  picturesque  effects  yet 
produced  in  the  Convention.  Standing  in  the  body  of  the 
assembly,  its  one  conspicuous  object,  arose  this  colored  man, 
this  citizen  of  a  one  time  bonded  State,  and  looked  down 
upon  a  white  expanse  of  upturned  faces,  and  saw  the  patient 
eagerness  to  hear  him  speak.  Every  face  in  the  great  hall 
was  turned  toward  him,  every  eye  was  fixed  upon  him,  making 
an  impressive  scene,  all  the  more  effective  for  one  brief  instant 
during  which  not  a  sound,  the  slightest,  was  heard  in  the  vast 
chamber.  He  was  frequently  applauded  after  he  began  and 
throughout  the  time  in  which  he  spoke.  But  through  one  of 
those  happy  inspirations  by  which  sometimes  a  great  and 
comprehensive  truth  finds  condensation  in  a  single  line,  he 
suddenly  punctured  the  resolution  and  controlled  the  spirit  of 
the  Convention.  He  had  referred  to  the  abuse  of  the  negro 
vote  in  the  Southern  States,  the  false  returns,  the  dishonest 
count,  and  the  utter  impracticability  of  a  representation  on  the 
basis  of  votes  where  votes  were  neither  received  nor  recorded, 
and  then  exclaimed  to  the  Convention  that  the  adoption  of 
such  a  resolution  was  equal  to  the  declaration  to  the  Southern 
Republicans,  "  We  will  admit  you  only  on  what  the  Demo 
crats  choose  to  give  you."  This  sentence  was  the  strategic 
stroke.  It  touched  the  sense  of  the  Convention  and  stirred  a 
whirlwind  of  applause.  The  resolution  fell  with  the  transport. 
There  were  other  moments  of  enthusiasm  when  the  splen 
didly  prepared,  if  somewhat  lengthy,  platform  of  resolutions 
was  read.  It  was  full  of  those  admirable  touches  that  meet 
vital  issues  like  inspired  thought  and  which  appeal  with  irre 
sistible  influence  to  hearts  arid  minds  in  interest.  There  were 
periods  of  cheers  throughout  its  reading,  and  at  the  end  it  was 
adopted  by  a  loud  acclaim  of  well-content  approval  that  knew 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  265 

o  negative.  And  so  the  preparations  were  completed  and 
lie  field  cleared  for  the  real  purpose  and  battle  of  the  Con- 
ention. 

Chairman   Henderson  at   10.50  brought  down  his  gavel  in 

esponse  to  pugilistic  cries,  from  the  body  of  the  house,  of 

Time."     The  Chairman  introduced  Bishop  Fallows,  of  the 

Reformed   Episcopal   Church,  who  was  to  open  the  session 

nth  prayer. 

Almighty  God,  the  fountain  of  all  light  and  life,  we  de- 
•outly  bless  Thee  for  the  national  and  individual  blessings  Thou 
last  mercifully  vouchsafed  to  us.  Thou  wast  with  our  fathers 
.s  in  their  weakness  and  feebleness  they  laid  the  foundations 
>f  the  republic.  Thou  didst  give  victory  to  our  struggling 
rmies  during  the  dark  and  stormy  days  of  the  revolution. 
Thou  didst  lead  us  forth  out  of  our  terrible  civil  conflict  with 
n  emancipated  and  enfranchised  grace  and  undivided  union 
>f  the  States.  We  thank  Thee,  O  God,  for  the  precious  heri- 
age  of  memory,  thought,  and  service  bequeathed  to  us  by 
he  labors,  the  sacrifices,  and  the  surrendered  lives  of  heroic, 
!evoted  men.  We  thank  Thee  that  in  every  period  of  our  his- 
ory  Thou  didst  raise  up  leaders  of  the  people  to  meet  the 
leeds  and  emergencies  of  their  own  times,  and  we  praise  Thee 
liat  the  bright  succession  has  not  died  out.  We  thank 
'hee  for  the  blessings  of  free  speech,  free  schools,  a  free  bal- 
ot,  a  free  pulpit,  a  free  press  so  extensively  enjoyed.  We 
iray  for  one  blessing  now  upon  our  common  country,  welded 
.lore  closely  together  in  a  union  of  fraternity,  charity  and 
oyalty.  Bless  Thy  servant  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
nd  all  in  authority  ;  grant  them  in  health  and  prosperity  long 
o  live.  Bless  him  who  presides  over  the  Convention ;  give 
u'ni  wisdom  and  strength  for  his  arduous  task.  We  ^thank 
Thee,  O  God,  for  the  glorious  record  made  in  winning  justice 
or  all,  liberty  for  all,  equality  before  the  law  for  all,  by  the 
)arty  whose  representatives  are  here  assembled.  Direct  peace 
o  them,  we  pray  Thee,  in  their  deliberations  and  discussions ; 
ave  them  from  error,  ignorance,  pride  and  prejudice ;  check 
he  hasty  word :  prevent  the  inconsiderate  act.  May  those 


266  SELECTING   A   PRESIDENT. 

who  shall  be  selected  for  the  loftiest  political  positions  t 
which  mortal  man  can  aspire  be  those  who  shall  possess  ever 
qualification  of  body,  mind  and  heart  for  that  high  and  hoi; 
trust.  Grant,  we  pray  Thee,  that  personal  preferences  and  in 
terests  may  yield  to  the  just  demands  of  a  true  and  broai 
patriotism,  and  grant,  we  pray  Thee,  that  when  the  time  shal 
come  for  the  suffrages  cf  the  American  people  to  be  cast,  sue! 
shall  be  the  declaration  of  principles  adopted  by  this  grea 
body,  such  the  measures  devised,  such  the  candidates  pre 
seated,  that  the  hearty  and  unanimous  support  of  these  her 
before  Thee  shall  be  secured,  and  a  final  ratification  made  b] 
the  people  in  an  unmistakable  manner.  In  the  name  of  tin 
Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  all  glory,  worli 
without  end.  Amen. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Credentials,  seating  th 
entire  Mahone  delegation  from  Virginia,  was  then  adopte< 
without  debate.  The  Committee  on  Rules  submitted  major 
ity  and  minority  reports  relating  to  the  appointment  of  mem 
bers  of  the  National  Committee.  The  majority  report  wa 
adopted  with  slight  modifications.  A  second  report  of  tin 
minority  upon  the  representation  to  Conventions  according  t< 
the  number  of  Republican  votes  cast  in  the  various  district 
led  to  a  very  excited  debate.  It  was  finally  withdrawn. 

The  Platform  was  then  presented  from  the  Committee  01 
Resolutions  and  read.  It  is  as  follows : 

THE  PLATFORM. 

The  Republicans  of  the  United  States  in  National  Convention  assembled,  re 
new  their  allegiance  to  the  principles  upon  which  they  have  triumphed  in  si: 
successive  Presidential  elections,  and  congratulate  the  American  people  on  thi 
attainment  of  so  many  results  in  legislation  and  administration  by  which  the  Re 
publican  party  has,  after  saving  the  Union,  done  so  much  to  render  its  institution 
just,  equal  and  beneficent,  the  safe  guard  of  liberty,  and  the  embodiment  of  tin 
best  thought  and  highest  purposes  of  our  citizens.  [Applause.] 

The  Republican  party  has  gained  its  strength  by  quick  and  faithful  response  t< 
the  demands  of  the  people  for  the  freedom  and  equality  of  all  men,  for  a  l/niicc 
Nation,  assuring  the  rights  of  all  citizens,  for  the  elevation  of  labor,  for  an  hones 
currency,  for  purity  in  legislation,  and  for  integrity  and  accountability  in  all  de 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  26/ 

partments  of  the  government,  and  it  accepts  anew  the  duty  of  leading  in  the 
work  of  progress  and  reform.  We  lament  the  death  of  President  Garfield, 
whose  sound  statesmanship,  long  conspicuousness  in  Congress,  gave  promise  of 
a  strong  and  successful  administration,  a  promise  fully  realized  during  the  short 
period  "of  his  office  as  President  of  the  United  States.  His  distinguished  success 
in  war  and  peace  have  endeared  him  to  the  hearts  of  the  American  people. 
[Cheers.] 

In  the  Administration  of  President  Arthur  we  recognize  a  wise,  conservative, 
and  patriotic  policy,  under  which  the  country  has  been  blessed  with  remarkable 
prosperity,  and  we  believe  his  eminent  services  are  entitled  to,  and  will  receive, 
the  hearty  approval  of  every  citizen.  [Rounds  of  applause.] 

It  is  the  first  duty  of  a  good  government  to  protect  the  rights  and  promote  the 
interests  of  our  people.  The  largest  diversity  of  industry  is  most  productive  of 
general  prosperity  and  of  the  comfort  and  independence  of  the  people.  We, 
therefore,  demand,  that  the  imposition  of  duties  on  foreign  imports  shall  be 
made  "  not  for  revenue  only,"  but  that  in  raising  the  requisite  revenues  for  the 
government,  such  duties  shall  be  so  levied  as  to  afford  security  to  our  diversified  in 
dustries,  and  protection  to  the  rights  and  wages  of  the  laborer,  to  the  end  that 
active  and  intelligent  labor,  as  well  as  capital,  may  have  its  just  award,  and  the 
ilaboring  man  his  full  share  in  the  National  prosperity. 

Against  the  so-called  economic  system  of  the  Democratic  party  which  would 
degrade  our  labor  to  the  foreign  standard,  we  enter  our  earnest  protest.  The 
Democratic  party  has  failed  completely  to  relieve  the  people  of  the  burden  of 
unnecessary  taxation  by  a  wise  reduction  of  the  surplus. 

The  Republican  party  pledges  itself  to  correct  the  inequalities  of  the  tariff, 
land  to  reduce  the  surplus,  not  by  the  vicious  and  indiscriminate  process  of  hori- 
izontal  reduction,  but  by  such  methods  as  will  relieve  the  tax-payer  without  in 
juring  the  labor  or  the  great  productive  interests  of  the  country. 

We  recognize  the  importance  of  sheep  husbandry  in  the   United  States,  the 

serious  depression  which  it  is  now  experiencing,  and  the  danger  threatening  its 

jfuture  prosperity,  and  we  therefore  respect  the  demands  of  the  representatives  of 

this  important  agricultural  interest  for  a  readjustment  of  duty  upon  foreign  wool, 

Jin  order  that  such  industry  shall  have  full  and  adequate  protection.     [Applause.] 

We  have  always  recommended  the  best  money  known  to  the  civilized  world, 

land  we  urge  that  efforts  should  be  made  to  unite  all  commercial  nations  in  the 

stablishment  of  the  international  standard  which  shall  fix  for  all  the  relative 

ralue  of  gold  and  silver  coinage. 

The  regulation  of  commerce  with  foreign  nations  and  between  the  States  is 
me  of  the  most  important  prerogatives  of  the  General  Government,  and  the  Re- 
mblican  party  distinctly  announces  its  purpose  to  support  such  legislation  as  will 
ully  and  efficiently  carry  out  the  constitutional  power  of  Congress  over  inter- 
I  State  commerce.     The  principle  of  the  public  regulation  of  railway  corporations 
is  a  wise  and  salutary  one  for  the  protection  of  all  classes  of  people,  and  we  favor 
I  legislation  that  shall  prevent  unjust  discrimination  and  excessive  charges  for  trans 
portation,  and  that  shall  secure  to  the  people  and  the  railways  alike  the  fair  and 
equal  protection  of  the  laws.      [Applause.] 

We  favor  the  establishment  of  a  National  bureau  of  labor,  the  enforcement  of 
the  eight-hour  law,  a  wise  and  judicious  system  of  general  education  by  adeqinte 
appropriation  from  the  National  revenues  wherever  the  same  is  needed.  We 
believe  that  everywhere  the  protection  to  a  citizen  of  American  birth  must  be  se- 


:   >  SELECTING  A  PRESIDENT. 

wericui  *dkf*w*»  »»*  we  fe*ortl* 


^« J t  tiLii IMI  r  n    km  rr»i»»rw*i>^»»  w4frV    »  *  **t  «jjjrtr£U.    kkW-J*  *--*•  --*--  1*    fc.-— . 

-  -  % 

.     .         V«  .      >          _          ., 

>-.'•.>  >     S  .  .  -  <      , 

.        -  _    ~  ,,..,,,.  .      .-     - 

Ifc*M*tl*«M«Ur*CftlMWkMK] 

k  %.*fc%.**fc 


. 
-     -.  -          >•.-..>.->>  :.".-.-  v      .       ,    . 


- 
^M««Me. 

•  -.  ..  .        ...       .»^.         .        ^- 

...  .         .          .       . 


PCMW  of  oftcM  r^ftQMgf.  •JIT  W  wcehr  lart  eie<tita;  «roMk4>    [Apffciwe.] 

^  4 

- 


need,  as  far  *s  MsaiUkv  *»  ««*»"  Iwldfom  W  ackwi  srttkrsc 
OMMK4  lo  tl»  KMsfewMi  to  hm  tracts  of  tWsft&u^  Wc«n«m«iMKoriwK. 
^J^«^«cn%mlKK»^lnUMc»««  M  tW  lw»d&  «f  m-ratte*  aJk^ 


...          .        .  .  •   >..         ;-^s  -  .   •        .    ;       -.  .      .      «   . 

'•  •  .        .  :  .,  -    .  .  ;  .  -  .  .' 


tiwve  >w  l««i  «o  attenyt  M  fowl  6uMi  to  fcflfem  tW  coddltmi  of  siKli  p«Mb 

.  .  .^       ^     .   .^.         ^         .         .. 


v'          '.  .      •  ; 


••HOMI  VMMMMw  «•  me  OKI 

-         ,'•>        ^     -., 


...  ......  ,;,    -      .-<       v- 

-,   ;-    -,:        v  .       .      -      ..     •       .       ;"  .:  .-    ,--.'.:      - 


' .    ^ 


e*t    •_i_u»«  fcji_  ^.  _i  llttimi   «««w^tf«^ 

. 

it  it  MTm«Mf9Mprale< 

•I 


it  m»r»  amrwft  protect  tfc*  Mis  «T  Awnkw  cfcwa*  «*4  At  MMrt 

I    MM  W^  CUi  W 


.        -     V      ;      .      •    >  -         ...          ..,..,  -  ,  ' 

.-         .-;;••.;.      •       .  .  >  -...-.  .  .-..•..-. 


b»fe  im»  Hft  Ami  TLk  «fe«m  «»i  mMkMt  «T  tfce  T«n*oocs 


AMfc^^Il^llllllft^SSrciMMR^ 

«^tJKttB^«M«U&tl»«gt^J>^^^ 


*fca>*tfc  .     fc»^  k^J    *\.«Mkt    *-^ 

.  . 

•**)*«&»•?¥»****    [G^tanpte.^3 


NG    11  ,  -T-.v) 

The  v.  -  \  | 

.     \ 

S 
uUym.ur.. 

-•-.::  in.iy  bo 

the  I  i  rests 

ra     \\  B 
t  States 

I 
i    UK)  we  s 

the 

.  I,  re^u^U's*   of   ihei: 

hem  our  mo<t  e.xrne>t  - 

•.he  full  ami  complete 
•ul  jv  litical  lights.      ^  ; 
linucd  app- 

Mr.  Rush,  of  California  —  I   move  the  reso 

lutions. 

!    Chair  —  Tlu*    gentleman     from    California    moves    the 
•ption  of  the  resolutions.     The  question  is  upon  the  adop 
tion.     Those  in   favor  of  the 
trary  "  no." 

The  resolutions  '.animously. 

r  compleiin^-  the   National  Committee,  the  Comv 
:rned  until  se\e:i  oV'.ock. 

THK   XOMIN  \       NS 

After  five  minutv  <    -    .:rin^,   the   S,  proceed- 

call  the  roll   of  States   in  order  that  the  variou- 
niijjht  be  put  in  nomination.     Alabama,  Ark.. 

,:hout  response.     \\  '.;/  :\   ConntCt&Ut 
named  the   Hon.  August-.:  s  N  \\alked   up  to  the 

speaker's  desk  and  thus  ad  nbled  i: 


Mr.  V:  ,.l  iicwiesnen  of  the  «.\uiventioti  •     \\  ,•  m    ken 

6  tor  rliiny  eigfal  States  atul  55A\\\,v.>  v>f  j\ 

lutn  ot'  June  \\ill  Iv  ;:                               N           .'vr.  and  March  ^   'I 

.'.:ivl  Oouti:r..                                                 ,  v.th  Repu  -  .ictxt 

of  the  l"ri:oa  S-.v.os.     1:   i                              ;.  to  .»  t'.x;  -  -.uh, 

:  has  already  captured  the  ;  the 


270  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

results  of  the  war  will  be  rolled  back  for  another  generation.  We  are  the  ac 
credited  representatives  from  all  the  States  and  from  every  Territory  of  a  party 
to  the  wisdom  and  patriotism  of  whose  great  leaders  human  progress  and  liberty 
owe  more  than  to  any  political  organization  since  governments  were  instituted 
among  mankind.  To  that  party  impartial  history  will  accord  a  Union  saved — a 
Constitution  preserved  and  rein  fused  with  a  larger  spirit  of  liberty — a  race  eman 
cipated,  enfranchised,  regenerated  and  disinthralled,  the  nation's  credit  main 
tained,  specie  payment  resumed,  all  rights  for  all  men  secured,  American  labor 
dignified,  ennobled  and  protected.  With  such  a  proud  history  in  the  past,  and 
such  high  hopes  of  the  future,  we  stand  pledged  not  to  make  shipwreck  of  an 
organization  in  which  the  best  interests  of  our  country  and  our  race  are 
bound  up. 

Never  before  to  a  National  Convention  was  such  an  opportunity  presented,  or 
the  path  of  duty  so  plain. 

The  tidal  wave  has  ebbed — it  has  left  wrecks  along  the  shore  and  exposed  the 
flats  and  the  shallows.  The  councils  of  our  opponents  are  confused.  They 
have  been  smitien  again  with  judicial  blindness.  The  heart  of  the  people  has 
unmistakably  turned  once  more  to  the  Republican  party.  The  supreme  duty  of 
the  hour  is  for  us  to  select  a  leader  under  whom  that  party  can  grandly  and 
surely  win.  Such  a  leader  must  be  a  true  and  tried  Republican — one  whose 
name  alone  will  be  a  platform,  who  has  capacity,  experience,  character — and  a 
backbone;  a  leader  who  lias  the  courage  of  his  convictions,  and  whose  convic 
tions  have  been  on  all  great  questions  right — right  on  the  wnr,  right  on -recon 
struction,  right  on  each  and  all  of  the  constitutional  amendments,  right  on  the 
public  faith,  the  currency,  resumption,  the  tariff,  civil  rights  and  civil  service 
reform. 

Standing  in  this  great  presence — in  this  historic  hall — inspired  by  the  familiar 
faces  of  the  great  leaders  and  mnityrs  of  our  faith,  who  look  down  as  in  benedic 
tion  from  the  walls,  impressed  with  a  profound  consciousness  of  the  trust  I  have 
in  charge,  I  am  requested  to  offer  such  a  candidate  to  our  brethren  from  other 
States  by  the  Republicans  of  Connecticut.  In  their  behalf  I  nominate,  as  one 
who  fulfils  every  one  of  these  conditions  and  whose  name  would  lead  to  certain 
victory — General  Joseph  R.  Hawley,  of  Connecticut. 

The  Connecticut  delegation,  sir,  sits  in  this  grand  council  of  the  party  unin- 
structed,  uncommitted,  unpledged.  They  are  free  to  hear,  free  to  speak,  free  to 
deliberate  and  decide.  They  offer  the  name  of  their  great  leader  and  Senator 
as,  in  their  judgment,  the  wisest  choice  that  can  be  made.  If  it  seems  good  to 
you,  make  it  yours.  If  you  have  a  better,  we  will  cheerfully  make  it  ours.  But 
wherever  the  lot  may  fall  and  whoever  the  standard-bearer  may  be,  we  pledge 
ourselves  in  advance,  with  full,  ungrudging,  unhesitating  loyalty,  with  all  our 
hearts  and  with  all  our  votes  to  support  the  nominee. 

General  Hawley  was  born  in  North  Carolina.  He  draws  from  the  blood  and 
the  skies  of  the  South  the  generous  chivalry  of  a  nature  which  abhors  cant  and 
crookedness  and  falsehood,  and  feels  a  stain  like  a  wound.  He  came  a  penni 
less,  barefooted  boy  to  the  rugged  soil  of  Connecticut,  where,  taught  in  its  free 
schools,  breathing  its  free  air  and  listening  to  its  free  speech,  he  laid  the  founda 
tions  of  his  character  and  life  in  those  manly  principles  which  are  as  endearing 
as  its  everlasting  hills.  He  early  caught  the  eye  of  honest  John  Hooker,  the 
John  the  Baptist  of  free  soil,  whose  voice  was  then  crying  for  repentance  of  the 
nation's  great  sin.  He  studied  law  in  Hooker's  office,  but  the  fire  was  kindling 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  2/1 

in  his  soul,  and  it  could  not  find,  rest  in  the  dry  quillets  and  dusty  maxims  of  the 
law  while  men  were  being  hunted  under  the  fugitive  slave  act  like  partridges 
over  the  mountains  of  New  England. 

When  at  last  Boston  Court- House  was  hung  in  chains,  he  could  plead  no 
longer  any  cause  less  sacred  than  that  of  emancipation  and  the  rights  of 
man.  He  threw  away  his  Coke  and  Blackstone,  and  started  the  first  free  soil 
paper  of  Connecticut,  in  time  to  become  the  first  Republican  newspaper  of  New 
England.  At  last  the  storm-cloud  burst,  and  the  shot  fired  at  Sumter  echoed 
around  the  world.  Seeing  from  his  office  window  the  crowd  gathered  in  the 
old  State  House  square  at  Hartford  at  the  proclamation  of  Lincoln,  he  laid  aside 
his  pen,  walked  down  among  his  neighbors,  and  said  :  "  The  time  has  come  !  I 
am  going!  Who  will  follow?" 

lie  was  the  first  soldier  to  enlist  in  the  first  company  of  the  first  regiment 
which  left  Connecticut  for  the  defense  of  the  capital.  He  was  the  last  to  leave 
the  stricken  field  of  Bull  Run.  The  English  historian  of  that  rout  says :  "  Haw- 
ley  brought  off  his  company  in  good  order,  while  the  Union  army  was  flying, 
panic-stricken,  to  Washington."  He  fought  all  the  war  through  from  Bull  Run 
till  the  Democratic  party  laid  down  its  arms  under  the  apple  tree  of  Appomattox. 
He  went  in  a  private,  and  came  out  a  major-general. 

But  not  alone  in  "  the  purple  testament  of  bleeding  war"  is  his  name  written 
among  the  foremost.  He  stands  as  well  in  the  front  rank  of  orators  and  states 
men.  There  is  scarcely  a  State  where  his  voice  has  not  been  heard  preaching 
the  gospel  of  Republicanism.  He  was  a  Republican  before  the  party  was  born, 
and  believed  in  its  creed  before  it  had  been  formulated  into  a  platform.  In  the 
Senate  no  great  measure  of  public  policy  or  reform  has  failed  to  receive  his  sup 
port.  He  is  thoroughly  equipped  upon  all  great  questions  of  administration  or 
legislation  which  concern  our  interest  or  our  honor  at  home  or  abroad.  In  that 
dark  hour  for  the  nation's  credit,  when  the  storm  of  repudiation  seemed  about  to 
sweep  the  old  ship  from  its  moorings,  it  was  his  voice  which,  like  a  trumpet,  pro 
claimed  from  this  very  platform  where  you  now  preside,  "  Every  dollar  of  the 
nation's  debt  shall  be  as  sacred  as  a  soldier's  grave."  When  in  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States  even  trusted  leaders  wavered  as  to  the  nation's  faith,  he  summed 
up  the  duty  of  the  hour  in  the  pithy  sentence,  "  Uncle  Sam  is  a  gentleman,  and 
scorns  to  pay  his  debts  in  bogus  dollars."  To  his  power  of  organization,  clear 
judgment  a,nd  administrative  tact  as  President  of  the  Centennial  Exposition  was 
largely  due  that  order  and  harmony  took  the  place  of  confusion  and  discord  ; 
and  what  seemed  to  promise  a  great  national  failure  was  wrought  out  into  a 
magnificent  success. 

He  believes  in  the  morality  of  practical  politics,  not  the  crooked  devices  of 
packers  and  bummers,  nor  the  abhorrent  forces  of  the  machine,  but  in  the  duty 
which  every  ciiizen  owes  the  State  to  throw  the  whole  of  his  personal  influence 
for  good  government,  from  the  primaries  to  the  polls. 

As  his  public  record  is  without  a  flaw,  so  his  private  life  is  without  a  stain. 
There  is  nothing  to  conceal,  or  to  defend,  to  apologize  for,  or  extenuate.  "  His 
life  is  gentle,  and  the  elements  so  mixed  up  in  him  that  nature  might  stand  up 
and  say  to  all  the  world  this  is  a  man."  The  fierce  light  which  beats  upon  a 
candidate  will  search  his  record  in  vain.  He  will  grow  brighter  in  the  blaze. 
His  nomination  will  leave  no  heart-burnings  behind.  There  will  be  nothing  to 
take  back,  nothing  to  be  forgiven  or  forgotten.  It  will  be  the  humiliation  of  no 
other  candidate.  There  will  be  no  pov/der  burned  except  against  the  common 


272  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

foe.  The  South  for  the  first  time  will  have  a  Republican  candidate  born 
on  her  soil.  'All  elements  in  the  party  can  unite  on  him,  for  he  was  the 
friend  of  Garfield  and  the  friend  of  Grant.  All  professions  can  claim  him,  for 
he  is  at  once  lawyer,  editor,  soldier,  orator,  and  statesman.  All  people  can  vote 
for  him,  for  he  is  the  ideal  candidate — a  capable,  upright,  sincere,  and  honest 
man.  If  he  should  seem  to  some  to  come  from  too  small  a  State  let  me  remind 
you  that  bigness  is  not  greatness,  and  that  States  are  not  measured  by  acres,  but 
by  men.  If  he  should  seem  to  live  too  near  the  North  Star,  let  me  recall  to 
your  recollection  that  never  since  the  Republican  party  was  born  have  you  nom 
inated  a  candidate  from  the  East,  and  that  for  a  generation  now  the  men  of  that 
section  have  ungrudgingly  supported  the  candidate  of  your  choice. 

With  his  name  on  your  banner  victory  is  certain  from  the  start.  The  brazen 
throats  of  the  cannon  in  yonder  square,  waiting  to  announce  the  result,  will  not 
have  time  to  cool  before  his  name  will  be  caught  up  from  ten  thousand  tongues 
of  electric  flame. 

It  will  sweep  down  from  the  Pine  Tree  State  over  the  hills  of  New  England. 
It  will  insure  Connecticut  by  10,000  majority.  It  will  weld  with  fervent  heat  the 
divisions  of  New  York.  It  will  blaze  through  the  State  of  Garfield — that 
younger  daughter  of  Connecticut  more  beautiful  than  her  mother.  It  will  sweep 
across  the  prairies  like  a  conflagration,  carrying  every  State  from  the  storm- vexed 
coast  of  the  Atlantic  to  the  golden  gates  of  the  Pacific. 

With  such  a  President,  in  the  very  prime  of  life  and  vigor  of  his  powers,  re 
spected  abroad  and  honored  at  home,  with  our  free  institutions  and  imperial  do 
main,  we  need  no  Bartholdi  statue  at  the  gateway  of  commerce,  with  uplifted 
torch,  to  typify  the  genius  of  Liberty  enlightening  the  nations.  But  our  history, 
wrought  out  under  Republican  principles,  Republican  policy  by  a  Republican 
President,  will  itself  bear  witness  to  all  the  world  that  this  people  are  the  hap. 
piest,  freest,  most  favored  people  upon  whom  the  sun  has  ever  shone. 

The  Secretary  called  the  States  of  Delaware,  Florida,  and 
'Georgia  without  meeting  with  any  response.  When  Illinois 
was  called,  and  Senator  Cullom  rose  from  his  seat,  about  four 
thousand  voices  indulged  in  the  exclamation,  "Ah!  ah!  ah!" 
as  people  are  in  the  habit  of  venting  themselves  while  looking 
upon  Fourth  of  July  fireworks.  The  Senator  walked  down 
the  aisle  toward  the  platform,  coolly  buttoning  up  the  buttons 
of  his  coat.  As  he  mounted  the  platform  he  was  received 
with  a  fresh  volley  of  yells,  which  died  out  and  were  renewed 
again  as  he  confronted  the  audience  from  the  speakers'  desk. 

The  Chair  introduced  the  Representative  of  Illinois  as  fol 
lows  : 

Gentlemen — Senator  Cullom  of  Illinois. 

More  yells  followed,  during  which  the  Senator  smoothed 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  273 

himself  down  in  front  with  his  hand,  and  when  the  uproar 
subsided  he  proceeded  as  follows : 

Mr.  President  and  gentlemen  of  the  Convention — Twenty-four  years  ago  the 
second  National  Convention  of  the  Republican  party  met  in  this  city  and  nom 
inated  its  first  successful  candidate  for  President  of  the  United  States — Abraham 
Lincoln.  [Cheers.]  Abraham  Lincoln  led  the  Republican  party  to  its  first  great 
victory.  He  stands  to-day  in  the  estimation  of  the  world  as  the  grandest  figure, 
the  most  majestic  figure  in  all  modern  times.  [Applause.]  Again  in  1868  another 
Republican  Convention  came  together  in  this  city  and  nominated  as  its  candidate 
for  President  of  the  United  States  another  eminent  citizen  of  Illinois — General 
Ulysses  S.  Grant.  [Loud  cheers  and  waving  of  fans  and  other  demonstrations 
of  approval.]  And  the  Republican  party  was  again  victorious.  Still  again  in 
1880  the  Republican  party  turned  its  face  toward  this  political  Mecca,  where  two 
successes  had  been  organized  and  the  murdered  Garfield  led  the  Republican 
party  to  victory.  [Loud  and  continued  applause.]  Mr.  President  and  fellow- 
citizens,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here.  There  are  omens  of  victory  in  the  air. 
History  repeats  itself.  There  are  promises  of  triumph  to  the  Republican  party 
in  holding  its  Convention  in  this  great  emporium  of  the  Northwest.  [Applause.] 
The  commonwealth  of  Illinois,  which  has  never  wavered  in  its  adherence  to  Re 
publican  principles  since  it  gave  to  the  nation  and  to  the  world  the  illustrious 
Lincoln,  and  now  presents  to  this  Convention  for  its  consideration  as  the  standard- 
bearer  of  the  Republican  party  another  son  of  Illinois,  one  whose  name  will  be 
recognized  from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other  as  an  able  statesman,  a  brilliant 
soldier  and  an  honest  man — General  John  A.  Logan.  [The  announcement  of 
General  Logan's  name  was  received  with  a  wild  burst  of  applause,  a  great  many 
persons  rising  to  their  feet,  waving  their  hats  and  handkerchiefs  and  the  thousands 
of  people  in  the  gallery  joining  in  the  roar  of  applause.  The  cheers  were  re 
newed  again  and  again.]  A  native  of  the  State  which  he  represents  in  the  Coun 
cil  of  the  Nation,  reared  among  the  youth  of  a  section  where  every  element  of 
manhood  is  early  brought  into  play,  he  is  eminently  a  man  of  the  people  [ap 
plause],  is  identified  with  them  in  trust,  in  faith,  and  in  feeling,  and  enjoying 
their  sympathy,  respect,  and  confidence.  The  safety,  the  permanency,  and  the 
prosperity  of  the  nation  depend  upon  the  courage  and  integrity,  and  the  loyalty 
of  the  citizens.  When  yonder  flag  was  assailed  by  enemies  in  arms,  when  the 
integrity  of  the  Union  was  imperiled  by  an  organized  treason,  when  the  storm  of 
war  threatened  the  very  life  of  this  nation,  this  gallant  son  of  the  Prairie  State 
resigned  his  seat  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  returned  to  his  home,  and 
was  among  the  first  of  our  citizens  to  raise  a  regiment  and  to  march  to  the  fronc 
in  defense  of  his  country.  [Applause.]  Like  Douglas,  he  believed  that  in 
time  of  war  men  must  be  either  patriots  or  traitors,  and  he  threw  his  mighty  in 
fluence  on  the  side  of  Union,  and  Illinois  made  a  record  second  to  none  in  the 
history  of  States  in  the  struggle  to  preserve  this  government.  [Applause.] 
Among  the  large  number  of  brave  men,  of  brave  soldiers  of  the  late  war,  whose 
names  are  proudly  written  upon  the  scroll  of  fame,  none  appear  more  grandly 
than  the  name  of  Logan.  [Applause.]  His  history  is  the  record  of  the  battle 
of  Belmont,  Donelson,  of  Shiloh,  of  Vicksburg,  of  Lookout  Mountain,  of  At 
lanta,  and  of  the  famous  march  to  the  sea.  [Great  applause.] 

He  never  lost  a  baUle.  [Applause.]  I  repeat  again,  Sir.  Chairman  and 
fellow-citizens.  [Applause.]  When  there  was  fighting  to  be  done  he  did  not 


274  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

wait  for  others,  nor  did  he  fail  to  obey  orders  when  they  were  received.  His 
plume,  the  white  plume  of  Henry  of  Navarre,  was  always  to  be  seen  at  the  point 
where  the  battle  raged  the  hottest.  [Applause.]  During  the  long  struggle  of 
four  years  he  commanded  under  the  authority  of  the  government,  first  a  regiment, 
then  a  brigade,  then  a  division,  then  an  army  corps,  and  finally  an  army.  He 
remained  in  the  service  until  the  war  closed,  when,  at  the  head  of  his  army, 
with  the  scars  of  battle  upon  him,  he  marched  into  the  capital  of  the  Nation,  and 
with  the  brave  men  who  had  bled  on  a  hundred  hard  fought  fields,  was  mustered 
out  of  the  service  under  the  very  shadow  of  the  Capitol  building  which  he  had 
left  four  years  before  as  a  member  of  Congress  to  go  and  fight  the  battles  of  his 
country.  When  the  war  was  over  and  general  peace  victoriously  returned  he  was 
again  honored  by  his  fellow-citizens  to  take  his  place  in  the  councils  of  the  Na 
tion.  In  a  service  of  twenty  years  in  both  Houses  of  Congress  he  has  shown 
himself  to  be  no  less  able  and  distinguished  a  citizen  than  he  was  renowned  as  a 
soldier.  Conservative  in  the  advocacy  af  measures  involving  the  public  welfare, 
ready  and  eloquent  in  debate,  fearless — yes,  I  repeat  again,  fearless  in  defense 
of  the  rights  of  the  weak  against  the  oppressions  of  the  strong,  he  stands  to-day 
(and  I  say  it  without  disposition  to  take  one  laurel  from  the  brow  of  these  men 
whose  names  may  be  presented  at  this  Convention) — I  say  he  stands  to-day,  in 
my  judgment,  closer  to  the  great  mass  of  the  people  of  this  country  than  almost  any 
other  man  now  engaging  public  attention.  [Applause.]  No  man  has  done  more  in 
defense  of  those  principles  which  have  given  life  and  spirit  and  victory  to  the 
Republican  party  than  has  John  A.  Logan,  of  Illinois.  [Applause.]  In  all 
that  goes  to  make  up  a  brilliant  military  and  civil  career,  and  to  commend  a  man 
to  the  favor  of  the  people,  he  whose  name  we  have  presented  here  to-night  has 
shown  himself  to  be  the  peer  of  the  best.  \Ve  ask  you  therefore  to  give  h:m  this 
nomination,  because  it  would  not  be  assailed,  and  it  is  not  assailable.  \Ve  ask 
you  to  nominate  him,  because  his  public  record  is  so  clean  that  even  political 
calumny  dare  not  attack  it.  \Ve  ask  you  to  nominate  him  in  behalf  of  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  gray  veteran  volunteer  soldiers  \vho  are  to-night  over 
this  broad  land  standing  around  the  telegraph  offices  waiting  to  know  whether 
that  gallant  leader  of  the  volunteer  soldiers  of  this  country  is  to  receive  the  nomi 
nation  at  your  hands.  [Applause.]  We  ask  you  to  nominate  him  in  behalf  of 
the  white  and  the  colored  Republicans  of  the  South  who  are  here  by  the  hundred, 
white  and  black,  appealing  to  this  Convention  as  the  representative  of  our  grand 
old  party,  to  give  protection  and  to  vindicate  them  in  their  rights  in  the  South. 
[Applause.] 

Now,  my  friends,  standing  in  the  midst  of  this  vast  assemblage  of  representa 
tive  citizens  of  this  grand  Republic — aye,  in  the  sublime  presence  of  the  people 
themselves  represented  here  to-night  in  all  their  majesty,  we  offer  you  the  name 
of  the  tried  hero  and  patriot,  the  sagacious  and  uncorrupted  statesman,  the  man 
who  though  defeated  never  sulked  in  his  tent — we  offer  you  General  John  A. 
Logan,  and  ask  you  to  make  him  your  nominee.  [Applause.] 

If  you  do  so  he  will  give  you  a  glorious  victory  in  November  next ;  and  when 
he  shall  have  taken  his  position  as  President  of  this  great  Republic  you  may  be 
sure  you  will  have  an  administration  in  the  interest  of  labor,  in  the  interest  of 
education,  in  the  interest  of  commerce,  in  the  interest  of  finance,  and  in  the  in 
terest  of  peace  at  home  and  peace  abroad,  and  in  the  interest  of  the  prosperity 
of  this  great  people.  [Applause.] 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  2/5 

The  Chairman  then  introduced  General  Prentiss,  of  Missouri. 

Mr.  Chairman :  It  is  a  great  pleasure  for  me  to  stand  here  to-night  and  second 
a  nomination  just  made  from  a  State  in  which  I  have  resided  for  forty-one  years. 
It  is  a  glorious  privilege  for  me  to  stand  before  this  Convention  and  say  a  word 
or  two  by  way  of  seconding  the  nomination  of  a  man  pursuing  his  own  course, 
endowed  with  energy,  until  to-day  he  is  the  equal  of  any  of  the  great  statesmen 
of  our  land  [applause];  a  man  pursuing  his  own  course  from  poverty  up  until 
to-night  he  is  reaching  to  the  highest  round  of  fame  known  to  earth,  that  of 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America ;  a  man  who  upon  the  field  of  battle 
led  his  comrades  always  to  victory ;  a  man  who  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  when  the  bold  enemies  of  this  country  combined  with  timid  allies  sought 
to  annul  the  solemn  finding  of  an  honored  court,  stepped  boldly  to  the  front  and 
called  loud  and  long,  "  Hold  in  your  infamous,  criminal  attempt  to  place  o'er 
honest,  tried  men  of  reputation  and  at  the  expense  of  reputation  a  man  whom  the 
votes  of  the  people  never  elected."  Oh,  it  is  glorious  that  I  am  here  to-night.  I 
dare  not  speak  plainly  of  that  crisis,  but,  dear.friends,  now  I  love  the  man  that  stood 
by  the  reputation  of  the  dead,  her  last  but  three  living  ones  left  whose  reputation 
had  been  assailed  and  your  speaker  at  this  moment  one  of  the  living ;  a  man  who 
has  been  my  friend,  a  man  who  has  been  the  friend  of  humanity,  a  man  that  led  the 
armies  of  Tennessee  on  to  Washington  and  there  mustered  it  out  of  service,  a 
man  whose  star  upon  his  shoulder  shines  brighter  and  brighter  as  he  moves  on. 

That  man  John  A.  Logan,  the  favorite  son  of  Illinois  [applause],  the  favorite 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  the  favorite  of  the  West,  and  you,  gentlemen,  if  you 
knew  him  as  we  know  him,  you  of  the  East  would  learn  to  love  him — a  man  in 
the  position  to-day  to  lead  our  army  to  victory.  Why,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  not 
one  of  those  that  entertains  the  idea  for  a  moment  that  this  great  Republican 
party  is  to  be  defeated.  No.  Whoever  we  nominate  is  to  be  the  President. 
[Cheers  and  applause.]  Whoever  we  select,  I  ask  you  to-night — I  ask  you  as 
a  friend,  I  ask  you  as  one  representing  those  who  have  been  true  to  the  party 
for  twenty-eight  years ;  one  who  has  stood  by  it  in  all  its  peril,  one  who  has 
never  yet  forsaken  it  at  any  time — I  ask  you,  oh,  I  appeal  to  you,  of  this  Con 
vention,  consider  well  and  make  the  best  nomination  you  possibly  can.  I  ask 
you  in  behalf  of  the  cripples  of  this  land  ;  I  ask  you  in  behalf  of  the  old  soldiers 
of  this  country;  I  ask  you  in  behalf  of  men  bleeding  to-day,  that  this  Nation 
has  aided ;  I  ask  you  in  behalf  of  the  children  of  this  country  that  are  without 
aid  ;  I  ask  you  in  behalf  of  humanity  to  give  the  nomination  to  John  A.  Logan,  of 
Illinois.  [Applause.]  Mr.  Chairman,  I  believe,  sir,  that  as  Epaminondas  at 
the  battle  of  Mantinea — 

At  this  time  the  audience  hissed  and  cheered  in  token  of 
their  disapproval  of  the  speaker,  but  he,  disregarding  them, 
continued  as  follows : 

I  believe,  sir,  as  Epaminondas  of  old,  when  at  the  battle  of  Mantinea,  receiv 
ing  his  death-wound,  his  officers  lifted  him  up  to  a  height  above  where  he  could 
look  over  the  field.  They  cried  when  they  perceived  him  in  death.  "  Oh,  why 
do  you  weep?"  says  he.  "We  are  weeping  because,  sir,  you  are  dying." 
[Continuous  applause,  in  which  the  speaker's  voice  was  entirely  drowned,  and 
cries  of  "Stop!  Stop!  "] 


276  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

The  Chairman  (rapping  the  desk  with  his  gavel)  said — We 
must  have  order. 

The  Speaker  (continuing) — He  said  to  them,  "  Weep  not,  dear  friends."  [Hisses 
and  cheers  continued.] 

The  Speaker — "  Do  I  not  leave  you  two  daughters  ?"  and  then  the  speaker 
concluded  as  follows :  Recognizing  the  services  of  the  proudest  star  in  that 
galaxy  in  the  volunteers  of  the  army,  I  second  the  nomination  of  John  A. 
Logan.  [Applause.] 

The  call  was  then  proceeded  with,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas, 
Kentucky,  Louisiana  each  being  called  and  each  passed  as 
called.  When  the  State  of  Maine  was  called  the  vast  assem 
bly  arose,  and  an  explosion  of  human  voices  occurred.  For 
seven  minutes  the  roar  continued,  and  only  ceased  because  of 
the  inability  of  the  audience  to  roar  any  longer.  Some  of 
the  delegates  were  overjoyed  to  the  extent  of  a  perfect  frenzy; 
hats,  handkerchiefs  and  canes  were  thrown  in  the  air,  flags 
waved,  and  a  regular  pandemonium  reigned.  The  Chairman 
rapped  with  his  gavel  for  order;  he  might  as  well  have  tried 
to  argue  with  a  cyclone.  The  audience  apparently  desired  no 
finer  opportunity  to  express  their  feeling,  and  expressed  the 
feeling  in  keeping  with  the  opportunity.  It  is  impossible  to 
convey  any  adequate  idea  as  to  the  tumult  that  reigned,  but 
possibly  an  estimate  can  be  formed  by  the  statement  that  from 
12,000  to  14,000  people  were  yelling  like  mad  and  could  not 
be  restrained.  It  was  a  glorious  tribute  to  pay  to  any  man. 

After  the  Chairman  had  succeeded  in  producing  compara 
tive  quiet,  Judge  West,  of  Ohio,  was  introduced,  and  said : 

As  a  delegate  in  the  Chicago  Convention  of  1860,  the  proudest  service  of  my 
life  was  performed  by  voting  for  the  nomination  of  that  inspired  emancipator, 
the  first  Republican  President  of  the  United  States.  [Applause.]  Four  and 
twenty  years  of  the  grandest  history  of  recorded  times  has  distinguished  the  as 
cendency  of  the  Republican  patty.  The  skies  have  lowered,  and  reverses  have 
threatened.  Our  flag  is  still  there,  waving  above  the  mansion  of  the  Presidency, 
not  a  stain  in  its  folds,  not  a  cloud  on  its  glory.  Whether  it  shall  maintain  that 
grand  ascendency  depends  upon  the  action  of  this  great  council.  \Viih  bated 
breath  a  nation  awaits  the  result.  On  it  arc  fixed  the  eyes  of  twenty  millions  of 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  2?/ 

Republican  Freemen  in  the  North.  In  it — or  to  it,  rather — are  stretched  forth 
the  imploring  hands  of  ten  million  of  political  bondsmen  of  the  South  [ap 
plause],  while  from  above,  from  the  portals  of  light,  is  looking  down  the  immor 
tal  spirit  of  the  immortal  martyr  who  first  bore  it  to  victory,  bidding  to  us  hail 
and  God-speed.  [Applause.]  Six  times,  in  six  campaigns,  has  that  banner 
triumphed — that  symbol  of  union,  freedom,  humanity  and  progress — sometimes 
by  that  silent  man  of  destiny,  the  Wellington  of  American  arms  [wild  ap 
plause]  ;  last  by  him  whose  untimely  taking  off  a  nation  swelled  the  funeral  cries 
and  wept  above  great  Garfield's  grave.  [Cheers  and  applause.]  Shall  that 
banner  triumph  again  ?  Commit  it  to  the  bearing  of  that  chief.  [A  voice, 
"  James  G.  Elaine."  Cheers.]  Commit  it  to  the  bearing  of  that  chief,  the  in 
spiration  of  whose  illustrious  character  and  great  name  will  fire  the  hearts  of  our 
young  men,  stir  the  blood  of  our  manhood  and  rekindle  the  fervor  of  the 
veteran,  and  the  closing  of  the  seventh  campaign  will  see  that  holy  ensign  span 
ning  the  sky  like  a  bow  of  promise.  [Cheers.]  Political  conditions  are  changed 
since  the  accession  of  the  Republican  party  to  power.  The  mighty  issues  of 
struggling  freedom  and  bleeding  humanity,  which  convulsed  the  continent  and 
aroused  the  Republic,  rallied,  united  and  inspired  the  forces  of  patriotism 
and  the  forces  of  humanity  in  one  consolidated  phalanx.  These  great  issues 
have  ceased  their  contentions.  The  subordinate  issues  resulting  therefrom  are 
settled  and  buried  away  with  the  dead  issues  of  the  past.  The  arms  of  the  solid 
South  are  against  us.  Not  an  electoral  gun  can  be  expected  from  that  section. 

If  triumph  come,  the  Republican  States  of  the  North  must  furnish  the  con 
quering  battalions.  From  the  farm,  the  anvil,  the  loom;  from  the  mine,  the 
workshop,  and  the  desk ;  from  the  hut  of  the  trapper  on  the  snowy  Sierra,  from 
the  hut  of  the  fisherman  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  The  Republican  States 
must  furnish  these  conquering  battalions  if  triumph  come.  Does  not  sound  po 
litical  wisdom  dictate  and  demand  that  a  leader  shall  be  given  to  them  whom  our 
people  will  follow,  not  as  conscripts  advancing  by  funereal  marches  to  certain 
defeat,  but  a  grand  civic  hero  whom  the  souls  of  the  people  desire  and  whom 
they  will  follow  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  volunteers,  as  they  sweep  on  and  on 
ward  to  certain  victory.  [Cheers.] 

In  this  contention  of  forces  to  which  candidate  shall  be  intrusted  our  battle- 
flags?  Citizens,  I  am  not  here — and  my  tongue  would  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my 
mouth  if  I  attempted  it — to  abate  one  tithe  from  the  just  fame,  integrity  and  pub 
lic  honor  of  Chester  A.  Arthur,  our  President.  [Applause.]  I  abate  not  one 
tiihe  from  the  just  fame  and  public  integrity  of  George  F.  Edmunds  [ap 
plause]  ;  of  Joseph  A.  Hawley  [applause]  ;  of  John  Sherman  [applause]  ;  of 
that  grand  old  black  eagle  of  Illinois.  [Here  the  speaker  was  interrupted  sev 
eral  moments  by  prolonged  applause.]  And  I  am  proud  to  know  that  these  dis 
tinguished  Senators  whom  I  have  named  have  borne  like  testimony  to  the  public 
life,  the  public  character,  and  the  public  integrity  of  him  whose  confirmation 
brought  him  to  the  highest  office — second  in  dignity  to  the  office  of  the  Presi 
dent  only  himself — the  first  premiership  in  the  administration  of  Garfield.  [Ap 
plause.]  A  man  for  whom  the  Senators  and  rivals  will  vote,  the  Secretary  of 
State  and  the  United  States  is  good  enough  for  a  plain  flesh  and  blood  God's 
people  to  vote  for  for  our  President.  [Loud  applause.]  \Vho  shall  be  our  can 
didate?  [Cries  of  "Elaine,"  "Arthur,"  and  "Logan."  A  loud  voice  yelled 
above  the  tumult,  "  Give  us  '  Black  Jack,'  and  we  will  elect  him."  When  quiet 
was  somewhat  restored  the  speaker  continued.]  Not  the  representative  of  a 


2/8  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

particular  interest  or  a  particular  class.  Send  the  great  proclamation  to  the 
country  labeled,  the  doctor's  candidate,  the  lawyer's  candidate,  the  Wall  street 
candidate,  and  the  hand  of  resurrection  would  not  fathom  his  November  grave. 
[Applause.]  Gentlemen,  he  must  be  a  representative  of  American  manhood. 
[Applause.]  A  representative  of  that  living  Republicanism  that  demands  the 
amplest  industrial  protection  and  opportunity  whereby  labor  shall  be  enabled  to 
earn  and  eat  the  bread  of  independent  employment,  relieved  of  mendicant  com 
petition  with  pauper  Europe  and  pagan  China.  [Loud  applause.]  He  must  be 
a  representative  of  that  Republicanism  that  demands  the  absolute  political  as 
well  as  personal  emancipation  and  enfranchisement  of  mankind — a  representative 
of  that  Republicanism  which  recognizes  the  stamp  of  American  citizenship  as 
tl  e  passport  to  every  right,  privilege  and  consideration  at  home  or  abroad, 
whether  under  the  sky  of  Bismarck,  under  the  palmetto,  under  the  pelican,  or 
on  the  banks  of  the  Mohawk — that  Republicanism  that  regards  with  dissatisfac 
tion  a  despotism  which,  under  the  sic  semper  t\rannis  of  the  whole  dominion, 
emulates  to  slaughter  popular  majorities  in  the  name  of  Democracy — a  Repub 
licanism  as  embodied  and  stated  in  the  platform  of  principles  this  day  adopted 
by  your  convention.  Gentlemen,  such  a  representative  Republican  is  James  G. 
Blaine,  of  Maine. 

Upon  the  call  of  the  name  of  Blaine  it  seemed  as  if  the  en 
tire-  assemblage  arose  and  amid  a  roar  of  applause  mingled 
with  cries  of  "  Blaine "  commenced  a  scene  such  as  can  be 
witnessed  only  in  a  National  Convention.  The  delegates  from 
California,  mounted  on  chairs,  hoisted  their  white  hats  on 
canes  and  waved  them  about  in  response  to  the  ocean  of 
handkerchiefs  waved  by  the  ladies  in  the  gallery  and  on  the 
platform  seats.  One  genius  conceived  the  idea  of  opening  his 
umbrella,  and  immediately  about  fifty  umbrellas  were  up  and 
waved  about,  presenting  a  novel  sight.  Meanwhile  the  im 
mense  crowd  of  admirers  of  Mr.  Blaine  were  shouting  in  one 
immense  never-ending  shout,  something  like  the  roar  of  a  tem 
pest,  now  swelling  and  sinking.  The  band  itself  came  to  the 
aid  of  the  shouters  and  thundered  with  its  basses  and  drums, 
and  although  five  minutes  had  passed  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
Blaineites  knew  no  end  and  the  roar  of  their  applause  still 
continued.  At  last  the  President,  who  had  been  looking  with 
interest  upon  the  scene  before  him,  seized  his  gavel  and  gave 
some  raps  therewith.  The  crowd  was  silent  a  moment,  and 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

then,  regardless  of  the  Chairman  rapping,  again  burst  out  in. 
another  shout  in  honor  of  their  candidate.  The  Chairman 
shouted  again, 'but  at  length,  after  a  succession  of  halloes 
lasting  some  minutes,  business  was  allowed  to  proceed.  The 
sensation  was  intense  and  the  interest  in  Mr.  West  on  account 
of  his  commanding  presence  and  sympathy  for  his  infirmity 
brought  all  to  silence  in  the  vast  hall. 

Order  having  been  restored,  Mr.  West  proceeded  as  fol 
lows  : 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  it  has  been  urged  that  in  making  this  nomina 
tion  every  other  consideration  should  merge,  every  other  interest  be  sacrificed,  in 
order  and  with  a  view  exclusively  to  secure  the  Republican  vote  and  carrying 
the  State  of  New  York.  [Slight  applause  from  the  back  seats.]  Gentlemen, 
the  Republican  party  demands  of  this  Convention  a  nominee  whose  inspiration 
and  glorious  prestige  shall  carry  the  Presidency  with  or  without  the  State  of  New 
York — [applause] — that  will  carry  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States,  and 
avert  the  sacrifice  of  the  United  States  Senate;  that  shall  sweep  into  the  tide  the 
Congressional  districts  to  recover  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  restore  it  to 
the  Republican  party.  Three  millions  of  Republicans  believe  that  that  man  who 
from  the  baptism  of  blood  on  the  plains  of  Kansas  to  the  fall  of  the  injmortal 
Garfceld,  in  all  that  struggle  of  humanity  and  progress  wherever  humanity  de 
sires  succor,  where  love  for  freedom  called  for  protection,  wherever  country  called 
for  a  defender,  wherever  blows  fell  thickest  and  fastest,  there  in  the  forefront  of 
the  battle  were  seen  to  wave  the  white  plame  of  James  A.  Garfield,  our  Henry 
of  Navarre.  [The  speaker  seeing  that  he  had  misspoken,  closed  his  sentence  by 
substituting  the  name  of  James  G.  Elaine] — our  Henry  of  Navarre. — Nominate 
him  and  the  shouts  of  September  victory  in  Maine  will  be  re-echoed  back  by  the 
thunders  of  the  October  victory  in  Ohio.  Nominate  him  and  the  camp-fires  and 
beacon-lights  will  illuminate  the  continent  from  the  Golden  Gate  to  Cleopatra's 
Needle.  Nominate  him  and  the  millions  who  are  now  in  waiting  will  rally  to 
swell  the  column  of  victory  that  is  sweeping  on.  In  the  name  of  a  majority  of 
the  delegates  from  the  Republican  States  and  of  our  glorious  constituencies  who 
must  fight  this  battle,  I  nominate  James  G.  Blaine,  of  Maine.  [Renewed  ap 
plause.] 

The  Chair  then  introduced  Governor  Davis,  of  Minnesota. 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention — In  the  face  of  the  demon 
stration  which  we  have  seen  and  heard  it  would  seem  scarcely  necessary  to 
second  a  nomination  which  appears  already  to  be  a  foregone  conclusion.  [Cheers 
and  applause.]  In  the  name  of  the  people  of  Minnesota  it  gives  me  the  greatest 
pleasure  to  second  the  nomination  of  James  G.  Blaine,  of  Maine  [vigorous 
cheers],  who  has  never  been  defeated  by  the  people.  [Cries  throughout  the 
house,  "  No,  no,  never  has  been  defeated."]  He  has  borne  his  great  faculties  so 
nobly  that  year  after  year,  in  success  and  adversity,  he  has  grown  so  completely 


280  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

into  the  affections  of  the  people  of  this  country  that  nt  this  moment  he  is  in  his 
own  person  the  embodiment  of  the  definition  of  their  choice  for  President  of  the 
United  States.  [Cheers  and  applause  and  cries  of  louder.]  This  preference  is 
not  the  growth  of  any  locality  or  of  any  one  idea.  It  springs  not  from  any  cold 
calculation  of  expediency,  although  it  is  coincident  with  the  highest  expediency, 
the  expediency  of  success  ;  it  is  the  majestic  voice  of  three  millions  of  the  great 
party  of  the  Union  of  National  progress  which  emancipated  man,  which  raised 
the  country  from  the  hell  of  civil  war  and  made  it  so  great  that  neither  foreign 
foe  nor  domestic  factions  can  affect  it  where  it  stands  secure  on  the  eternal  b..sis 
of  right  whereon  it  has  lieen  placed.  Mr.  Elaine  is  not  the  man  of  any  State; 
lie  has  grown  far  beyond  that.  To-day  his  peisistt-nt  popularity,  his  magnificent 
personal  traits,  his  unfailing  tact,  his  unswerving  loyalty  to  his  party,  and  his 
commanding  statesmanship  are  honored  in  every  community  from  Maine  to  Cal 
ifornia  [applause]  and  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Gulf. 

Without  the  aid  of  that  thing  called  organization,  without  self-seeking,  without 
combination,  with  no  such  condition  to  his  success  as  the  ruin  of  another  man, 
he  stands  here  to-day  with  all  these  attributes,  and  the  people  of  this  country  ask 
this  Convention  to  gratify  their  twice  deferred  desire.  [Applause.]  He  stands 
upon  the  friendship  and  confidence  of  Garfield,  and  when  the  lile  of  the  nation 
seemed  ebbing  away  with  the  spirit  of  the  great  son  of  Ohio,  when  all  the  func 
tions  of  government  were  languid,  when  business  men  felt  the  need  of  security 
it  was  upon  the  arm  of  the  great  Secretary  that  the  nation  leaned.  He  has  con 
ducted  our  foreign  affairs  so  as  to  make  us  respected  abroad  and  that  too  upon 
principles  almost  co-evil  with  the  foundations  of  this  government.  [Applause.] 
He  has  undergone  defeat  in  two  Conventions  and  risen  from  each  with  greater 
strength  than  before.  [Applause.]  The  campaigns  which  followed  were  most 
momentous  and  imperiled  the  very  existence  of  the  party.  Did  he  sulk  in  his 
tent  like  Achilles  before  the  walls  of  Troy  ?  [Cries  of  no,  no,  from  all  over  the 
hall.] 

No;  he  rose  upon  the  ruins  of  his  adversity  and  made  them  the  monuments 
of  his  glory.  [Cheers.]  He  led  his  competitors  through  the  road  of  triumph 
to  the  White  House.  No  word  from  him  that  the  nomination  was  unfortunate. 
No  auspices  from  him  of  want  of  success,  but  then  he,  this  man  from  Maine, 
came  forth  with  all  his  armament  like  a  magnificent  war  vessel,  ever)'  pennant 
flying,  every  sail  set,  every  man  at  his  post,  and  every  gun  thundering  from  its 
side.  [Applause.]  This  is  the  man — faithful  to  all  trusts;  superior  to  any 
fortune  ;  beloved  as  no  American  statesman  has  ever  been — whom  we  present 
for  your  suffrages.  [Cheers  and  applause.] 

The  Chair  next  introduced  the  Hon.  William  C.  Goodloe, 
of  Kentucky,  to  second  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Elaine.  Mr. 
Goodloe  addressed  the  Convention  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention — Coming  from  a  State  which 
was  the  immediate  home  of  that  woirlerful  and  electric  oralor,  the  idol  of  his 
people,  the  great  "  Harry  of  the  West,"  and  from  the  State  that  gave  birth  to  the 
great  liberator,  Abraham  Lincoln  [applar.se],  I  rise  to  second  the  nomination  of 
a  man  who  has  faithfully  followed  the  teachings  of  these  great  men — James  G. 
Blaine,  of  Maine.  [Cheers.]  £ince  the  d$ath  of  Mr.  Clay,  Kentucky  has 


SELECTING   A   PRESIDENT.  28 1 

seemingly  forgotten  the  wisdom  of  his  works  and  the  strength  of  his  presence, 
for  she  has  never  given  a  single  electoral  vote  for  any  Republican  candidate,  and 
she  is  not  apt  to  depart  at  the  coming  election  from  her  oft-trodden  and  well- 
beaten  Democratic  path.  (One  voice  on  the  platform  was  here  guilty  of  applause, 
and  the  supposition  is  that  some  enthusiastic  Democrat  had  surreptitiously 
smuggled  himself  into  the  very  citadel  of  Republicanism.)  Party  spirit  has  in 
fluenced  the  vote  alike  with  equal  boasts  and  warmth  as  of  a  Democrat  of  the 
strictest  school,  a  general  of  the  Union,  and  an  original  and  devout  abolitionist. 
Such  persistency  in  voting  in  the  same  line  very  justly  admits  of  the  conclusion 
that  the  goal  those  powerful  pilgrims  are  struggling  to  reach  is  one  of  spoils  and 
not  of  principles.  Coming  myself  from  that  strong  Democratic  section  as  a  Re 
publican,  I  certainly  shall  disclaim  any  semblance  of  dictation  to  Republican 
States  as  to  whom  they  shall  have  as  their  candidates.  [Cheers.]  I  am  here  to 
counsel  with  delegates  having  Republican  constituencies  at  their  backs  [cheers], 
and  to  follow  their  lead,  that  we  may  all  move  on  to  victory.  [Cheers.]  \Ve 
do  not  propose  to  trammel  your  future  action  by  the  abuse  of  the  power  that  we 
now  possess,  but  which  falls  limp  from  our  hands  the  very  instant  that  your  Presi 
dent  raps  the  adjournment  of  this  Convention.  [Applause.]  Southern  Re 
publicans  who  have  passed  through  every  vicissitude  of  fortune,  only  to  be 
strengthened  in  their  conscientious  devotion  to  the  principles  of  the  party,  are 
happy  in  the  belief  that  Republicans  are  too  brave  to  be  driven  from  any  course 
a  majority  may  be  led  to  pursue  by  an  unseemly  clamor  of  the  opposition  or  their 
weak-kneed  and  trembling  allies.  [Applause.]  I  am  not  one  of  those  Avho  be 
lieve  that  long  and  honorable  service  in  behalf  of  Republicanism,  and  an  intimate 
knowledge  gained  through  experience  of  the  strength  and  needs  of  the  Nation, 
is  in  any  sense  a  disqualification  for  leadership.  [Applause,  and  cries  of  "  Good, 
good."]  The  great  popular  heart  always  beats  in  unison  with  the  right  [ap 
plause]  ;  and  if,  without  organization  or  preconcerted  action,  that  State  sentiment 
has  made  itself  clearly  manifest  from  ocean  to  ocean,  it  seerns  to  me,  then,  that 
the  plain  and  simple  duty  of  delegates  is  to  ratify  the  people's  choice.  [Tre 
mendous  cheers.]  We  came  not  here  to  disparage  any  candidate,  but,  with  the 
kindliest  feeling  and  sincerest  admiration  for  all,  we  have  only  endeavored  to 
learn  the  choice  of  these  States,  and  those  delegates  having  Republican  electoral 
votes,  to  sustain  their  judgment  and  their  preferences.  [Applause.]  Speaking 
for  myself  and  others  from  the  South,  and  conscientiously  believing  that  choice 
to  be  the  great  commoner  from  Maine,  I  with  great  pleasure  second  the  nomina 
tion  of  James  G.  Elaine.  [Applause.] 

The  Chair  then  introduced  Mr.  T.  C.  Platt,  of  New  York, 
who  spoke  as  follows : 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention — I  rise  with  pleasure  to  second  the  nomination 
of  James  G.  Elaine.  [Applause.]  I  second  the  nomination,  believing,  as  I  do, 
that  his  turn  has  come;  believing,  as  I  do,  that  expedience  and  justice  demand 
it ;  believing,  as  I  do,  that  the  Republican  people  of  the  Republican  States  want 
him;  believing,  as  I  do,  that  he  is  the  representative  of  lhat  stern,  stalwart 
Republicanism  which  will  surely  command  success ;  believing,  as  I  do,  that  with 
him  for  our  standard-bearer  success  is  surely  assured,  and  believing  in  my  inmost 
heart  that  with  him  for  our  standard-bearer  success  is  assured  in  the  great  State 


282 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 


of  New  York.  [Applause.]  Fellow-delegates,  friends  of  James  G.  Elaine, 
stand  linn,  stay  so. id,  and  with  steady  step  and  strong  purpose,  victory  is  ours 
now  and  in  November.  [Great  applause.] 

Upon  the  mention  of  the  name  of  Blaine  there  arose  another 
shout  of  applause,  which,  spreading  rapidly,  soon  developed 
into  a  greater,  louder,  more  piercing  halloo  than  followed  the 
call  of  Maine.  The  handkerchiefs  of  the  ladies  were  again 
waved  in  unison,  the  delegates  elevated  their  hats,  and  it 
seemed  likely  for  five  minutes  to  be  merely  a  repetition  of  the 
preceding  uproar.  A  happy  innovation,  however,  was  made. 
The  visitors,  who  indeed  made  ninety-nine  hundredths  of  the 
applause,  wrested  the  flags  from  the  sides  of  the  gallery  and 
waved  them  the  entire  length  of  the  hall.  A  large  national 
flag  was  also  taken  by  a  visitor  from  the  platform  and  waved 
from  the  platform  with  tremendous  cheering.  Subsequently 
upon  the  pole  of  the  flag  was  placed  a  helmet,  exquisitely 
formed  of  carnations  and  roses,  with  a  long  white  plume, 
which  was  hoisted  from  a  press  table.  The  helmet  was  the 
gift  of  some  young  ladies  of  Chicago.  Tremendous  acclama 
tion  greeted  this  happy  suggestion  of  the  "  Plumed  Knight " 
of  four  years  ago.  So  went  on  the  waving  of  hats,  umbrellas, 
flags  and  divers  other  articles  for  several  minutes  until  it  de 
generated  into  whistling,  cat-calls  and  other  like  noises.  The 
Chairman  seized  the  moment  to  rap  the  Convention  to  order, 
and  after  a  short  fight  with  the  whistlers,  cat-callers  and 
others,  the  business  was  resumed  after  an  interval  of  twenty- 
five  minutes. 

Mr.  Galusha  A.  Grow,  of  Pennsylvania — Mr.  Chairman  : 
The  Chairman — Mr.  Grow,  of  Pennsylvania. 

At  the'close  of  this  second  century  of  national  existence  200,000,000  of  peo 
ple  will  be  dwellers  of  the  soil  over  which  to-day  floats  the  flag  of  our  fathers. 
Each  year  adds  1,000,000  to  our  population.  The  great  social  problems  there 
fore  are  those  which  relate  to  the  future  instead  of  the  generation  which  is  pass 
ing  away.  It  is  one  of  the  most  favorable  signs  of  the  world's  history.  All 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

that'tends  to  social  political  institutions,  development  of  material  resources,  the 
greatness  and  growth  of  a  nation  trying  the  great  experiment  of  free  con^titu- 
tional  government  among  men.  With  these  great  associations  of  this  quarter  of 
a  century,  with  the  shadows  of  its  mighty  events  and  the  shades  of  its  mighty 
ties  around  us,  we  meet  to  voice  the  sentiments  of  that  great  party  whose  achieve 
ments  in  peace  and  war  have  contributed  so  much  to  the  greatness  and  glory  of 
the  republic.  A  quarter  of  a  century  of  successful  administration,  beginning  in 
the  long  roll  of  one  of  the  most  gigantic  wars  of  history,  is  the  conclusive  evi 
dence  of  the  ability  of  that  party  to  manage  the  affairs  of  government  wisely 
and  well.  The  Republican  party,  in  its  earliest 'formation,  embodied  the  very 
essence  of  its  existence,  personal  rights,  manhood,  ciiizenship  and  the  best  in 
terests  of  the  laboring  classes.  And  almost  the  first  act  in  the  administration  of 
the  government  was  to  dedicate  the  unoccupied  public  land  of  the  Union  to  free 
homes  for  free  men,  inviting  the  sons  of  toil  to  come  and  sit  under  the  vine  and 
the  fig  tree,  secure  from  poverty  and  want.  The  great  social  problems  of  the 
day  will  fall  upon  this  generation  and  those  that  are  to  come  after  it.  The  great 
questions  of  labor,  of  capital,  of  the  development  of  the  material  res  mrces  of 
the  country — intrusted  with  the  high  offices  in  a  free  government  like  this,  it  will 
;equire  men  skilled  in  statesmanship,  men  experienced  in  all  the  great  questions 
of  political  statesmanship,  social  and  economic  questions.  Such  candidates  will 
carry  the  Republican  party  to  success  in  the  future  as  in  the  past.  [Loud  ap 
plause  and  cries  of  "  Take  the  platform,  platform."] 

The  Chair — Will  the  gentleman  suspend  for  a  moment  ? 

Mr.  Grow — I  will  occupy  but  a  moment. 

Loud  cries  of  "  Platform,  platform,  platform." 

Mr.  Grow  then  ascended  the  platform  and  spoke  as  follows  : 

The  Republican  party,  with  its  standard-bearers  such  as  it  has  had  from  its  in 
fancy,  while  true  and  faithful  to  the  great  principles  of  its  organization,  will 
march  to  victory  on  the  political  battle-fields  of  the  country  in  the  future  as  in 
the  past.  A  party,  a  political  organization,  with  a  record  unequaled  in  the  his 
tory  of  political  organizations  of  any  nation,  having  had  for  its  standard-bearers 
heretofore  the  great  champions  of  labor,  men  who  in  their  long  lives  were  the 
representatives  of  labor  and  its  trials,  Lincoln,  Wilson,  Greeley,  Wade  and  Gar- 
field,  and  a  host  of  their  illustrious  compeers  in  youth  and  early  manhood 
earned  their  daily  bread  by  their  daily  toil  in  the  workshop,  the  field,  and  along 
the  highways  of  commerce.  The  statesman  from  Maine  was  brought  up  in  a 
school-house  as  a  school-teacher  [applause],  in  the  printing  office  as  a  day 
laborer  [persistent  applause],  and  in  youth  [persistent  applause  and  cries  of 
"  Order "],  unaided  and  alone  [applause  renewed],  without  the  aid  of  wealth 
[renewed  applause],  without  the  aid  of  wealth  or  family  influence  [applause 
continued],  unaided  and  alone  [applause,  cries  of  "Louder!"  hisses  and  con 
fusion],  by  his  own  efforts  [applause,  cries  of  "Can't  hear  you!"  "Goon!" 
"Order!  "  hisses]  (the  Chairman  rapped  the  gavel,  and  the  speaker  continued), 
thus  beginning  and  earning  his  daily  bread  by  his  daily  toil  [applause],  unaided 
and  alone  [applause,  cries  of  "Order!  "  "  Louder!  "  and  hisses],  without  the 
aid  of  wealth  or  family  influence.  [Cries  of  "  Louder!"] 


284  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

Delegate  Luke  Staley — Mr.  Chairman  [applause,  confusion, 
the  Chairman  calling  for  order],  I  desire  to  say  to  this  Con 
vention  that  while  I  am  not  here  in  the  interest  of  James  G. 
Elaine,  I  hope  this  Convention  will  not  forget  that  we  are 
gentlemen,  and  we  are  Republicans,  and  I  hope  and  trust 
that  this  Convention  will  give  Mr.  Grow  a  hearing  here  to 
night. 

Mr.  Grow — I  stand  before  you,  gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  representing  in 
part  the  State  where  James  G.  Blaine  was  born.  I  speak  as  one  of  his  neighbors, 
calling  your  attention  to  the  trials  of  his  early  life,  and,  as  I  said  before,  from  the 
school-house  and  printing  press,  unaided  and  alone,  he  has  come  almost  to  the  top 
round  of  the  ladder  that  leans  against  the  sky,  the  architect  of  his  own  foriune  ; 
the  first  to  go  before  the  American  people  a  standard  -bearer,  who  was  one  of  the 
illustrious  compeers  of  the  great  men  who  have  made  the  great  name  of  the  Re 
publican  party  illustrious.  In  my  judgment,  in  November  next  the  Republican 
party  will  march  to  victory  under  the  broad  banner  of  protection  to  American 
labor,  e'i'.ial  rights  to  all  men,  and  adhesion  to  the  constitutional  guarantees  of 
citizenship.  [Applause.] 

The  Chair — The  Secretary  will  call  the  roll. 

The  calling  of  the  roll  was  continued  by  the  Secretary  until 
the  State  of  New  York  was  reached. 

When  New  York  was  called  came  the  opportunity  of  the 
friends  of  Arthur,  and  well  was  it  improved.  Such  a  burst 
of  enthusiastic  applause  upon  the  part  of  the  general  audience, 
such  an  uprising  and  cheering  of  a  great  body  of  the  delegates 
and  waving  of  flags  showed  their  numbers  and  earnestness.' 
The  colored  delegates  especially  raised  their  voices  (and  their 
hats)  and  added  to  the  general  applause.  Flags  were  again 
swung  upon  the  platform  and  along  the  sides  of  and  in  the 
hall.  After  fifteen  minutes  of  this  enthusiastic  cheering,  the 
Chairman  rapped  twice  to  stop  the  cheers,  but  was  only 
cheered  for  his  trouble.  He  rapped  thrice  and  the  crowd  sang 
"  Marching  Through  Georgia."  Again  he  rapped,  and  they 
gave  three  cheers  and  a  tiger  for  Arthur,  after  which  the 
business  proceeded. 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  285 

After  the  State  of  New  York  was  reached  and  called  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Convention,  Mr.  Martin  I.  Townsend,  of  New 
York,  took  his  place  upon  the  platform.  The  house  cheered 
and  applauded  for  sixteen  minutes,  and  endeavored,  if  possible, 
to  counteract  the  enthusiasm  gotten  up  by  the  friends  of  Mr. 
Elaine  a  few  minutes  previous.  As  soon  as  it  was  possible  to 
be  heard,  the  Chairman  rapped  vigorously  on  the  table  with 
his  gavel  and  said :  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  Mr.  Town- 
send,  of  New  York. 

Mr.  Townsend — Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention :  America 
is  proud  of  her  great  men;  the  Republican  party  is  proud  of  her  great  men,  and 
the  great  men  of  America,  are  in  the  Republican  party.  [Applause.]  It  has 
warmed  the  cockles  of  my  heart  to  hear  the  eulogies  and  lo  see  the  scenes  of  to 
night.  I  abate  not  one  whit  from  the  speakers  who  have  uttered  the  eulogium 
in  my  admiration  of  those  men.  I  came  here  to  say  amen  and  thrice  amen  as  to 
the  achievements  of  the  Republican  party,  including  the  glorious  history  of  the 
gentlemen  whose  names  have  been  presented  here.  I  came  here,  however,  to 
talk  about  the  well-being  of  the  Republican  party  in  the  future,  and  I  say  to  the 
gentlemen  of  this  Convention  that  however  joyous  our  evening  interview  may 
be,  there  is  a  very  grave  responsibility  resting  upon  us  that  has  got  to  be  borne 
and  decided  by  cool  and  deliberate  judgment.  The  question  is  :  How  shall  we 
put  ourselves  before  the  American  people  in  shape  to  carry  the  suffrages  at  the 
next  November  election  ?  And  it  is  a  serious  question.  In  France,  when  the 
National  Assemblies  from  about  1790  to  1803  were  assembled,  a  demonstration 
from  the  surrounding  neighborhoods  in  Paris  and  the  assent  by  the  National 
Assemblies  settled  the  question ;  but  we  may  exert  influence  upon  this  body,  we 
may  obtain  the  assent  of  this  body,  and  yet  our  work  is  not  done.  We  have  got 
to  go  down  to  the  constituencies  that  sent  us  here;  we  have  got  to  shape  our 
action  so  that  it  shall  commend  itself  to  the  men  that  go  to  the  church,  to  the 
clergymen,  to  the  elders,  to  the  deacons,  and  the  members  and  the  citizens  that 
attend  the  churches — all  that  fear  God  and  love  the  Republic  have  got  to  canvass 
our  action  and  pass  in  judgment  upon  what  we  have  done. — Now,  how  shall  we 
meet  the  views  of  those  people?  I  come  to  speak  to  you,  in  carrying  out  what 
I  believe  is  most  likely  the  favor  of  the  electors  of  this  country — the  Republican 
electors.  I  have  to  speak  of  the  individual — I  speak  of  General  Chester  A. 
Arthur,  of  the  State  of  New  York.  [Cheers  and  applause.] 

I  shall  not  dwell  upon  the  early  history  of  Chester  A.  Arthur.  I  shall  content 
myself  with  saying  that  his  veins  are  filled  with  the  blood  that  draws  its  origin 
from  the  channels  of  Argyle,  and  from  the  North  of  Ireland,  the  sturdiest  stock 
in  the  universe.  He  passed  the  typical  life  of  an  American  boy.  Without 
money,  he  had  to  make  up  by  energy  for  what  he  lacked  of  the  filthy  lucre. 
Four  years  ago  he  was  taken  up  by  the  National  assembly  that  met  here,  an  I 
nominated  for  the  office  of  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  He  \va-  Hpcre  I 
upon  the  same  ticket  with  the  sainted  Garfield,  a  man  that  I  loved.  I  kiv_\v 


286  SELECTING   A   PRESIDENT. 

him  away  back  in  1856,  when  a  boy  struggling  in  college,  in  my  own  college  in 
WiBiamstOwn,  in  dear  old  Massachusetts,  where  my  early  boyhood  days  were 
passed,  and  I  met  him  in  the  National  Congress.  Four  long  years  I  sat  by  his 
side,  and  I  felt  that  when  the  National  Convention  nominated  Garfield,  they  had 
done  themselves  honor,  they  had  done  the  country  the  greatest  favor  that  it  was 
possible  in  that  way,  and  the  then  circumstances  of  the  country  to  confer  upon  it. 
In  the  providence  of  God,  a  mournful,  a  melancholy,  a  never-to-he-forgotten 
providence,  Mr.  Gnrfield  was  removed  from  the  field  of  action  and  Mr.  Arthur 
was  called  to  the  difficult  and  almost  disheartening  position  of  the  chief  officer 
of  this  Union,  and  from  that  time  his  work  has  been  constant,  forward,  un 
swerving,  kind,  considerate  to  all,  and  with  charity  for  all,  and  malice  against 
jione,  he  has  discharged  his  duties.  [Applause.]  Within  a  year,  every  Repub 
lican  Convention  in  this  Union  passed  a  resolution  of  unqualified  commendation 
upon  the  man  and  his  conduct  in  the  Pics:dential  office.  [Applause.]  Shall  I 
say  that  I  need  not  utter  commendation  ?  What  have  you  said  to-day  ?  "  In  the 
administration  of  President  Arthur  we  recognize  a  wise,  conservative  and  patri 
otic  policy  under  which  the  country  has  been  blessed  with  remarkable  prosperity, 
and  believe  his  eminent  services  are  entitled  to  and  will  receive  the  hearty  ap 
proval  of  every  citizen."  [Cheers.]  That  is  to  go  down  to  the  fireside  of  every 
constituent  of  this  assembly  :  I  mean  of  this  representative  assembly,  and  they 
will  hold  you  to  what  you  have  said  on  this  occasion.  We  have  a  peculiar  con 
stituency.  We  have  greater  difficulties  than  our  Democratic  friends.  When  our 
Democratic  friends  have  held  up  a  principle,  have  led  their  friends  to  believe  they 
were  in  earnest,  and  have  achieved  a  triumph,  nothing  makes  them  so  happy, 
nothing  makes  their  constituents  so  proud  of  them  as  to  have  them  turn  tail  to 
and  confess  they  never  believed  it.  Our  people  hold  no  such  doctrine.  What 
shall  they  say  to  us?  Shall  we  lead  them  to  say,  "  Were  you  in  earnest  about 
this  thing?"  I  have  not  said  enough.  Some  ten  years  ago  a  large  portion  of 
our  citizens  came  to  feel  that  the  mode  of  distributing  inferior  and  clerical  offices 
throughout  the  country  was  injurious  to  public  morality,  and  would  in  the  end  be 
subversive  of  the  best  interests  of  the  people.  They  started  then  what  is  called 
the  agitation  for  the  civil-service  reform.  A  great  many  who  are  here  to-day  be 
lieved  it  was  not  necessary,  but  by  and  by  through  the  persistency  of  the  earnest 
men  that  favored  this  motion,  the  earliest  men  that  determined  that  reform  of  the 
civil  service  upon  the  principles  that  they  indicated  must  and  should  be  accom 
plished,  persevered  in  it  until  now.  For  more  than  eight  years  no  National,  no 
State  Convention  has  ever  been  organized  without  passing  a  resolution  in  favor 
of  civil-service  reform.  We  passed  laws.  We  have  appointed  commissioners. 
The  commissioners  have  gone  into  action,  and  during  the  administration  of  Mr. 
Garfield  all  the  principles  of  civil-service  reformers — and  that  included  the  whole 
Republican  party — have  been  put  in  practice.  [At  this  point  in  Mr.  Townsend's 
address  considerable  confusion  arose  in  the  audience,  from  the  fact  that  he  fre 
quently  turned  his  face  to  the  rear  of  the  platform  to  speak  to  the  officials  occu 
pying  that  exalted  position.  Frequent  ciies  arose  from  the  delegates  ami  fr«'m 
the  audience,  requesting  Mr.  Townsend  to  "  Turn  around  !  face  the  front !  We 
can't  hear  you."]  Facing  to  the  front  a  moment  Mr.  Townsend  continued — It 
is  not  I  that  say  so.  The  commissioners  themselves  in  their  report  to  the  Na 
tional  Congress  declared  that  Mr.  Arthur  in  every  respect  has  carried  out  the 
law  ?nd  aided  them  to  the  extent  of  his  power.  [Cheers.]  Another  thing  I 
vi^h  to  j-ny.  Ii  in.-y  I  c  said  that  I  hold  an  office.  I  do,  and  for  it  I  am  indtbU-d 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  287 

to  Mr.  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  a  most  excellent  gentleman,  who  did  honor  to  the 
great  office  of  President.  [Laughter  in  spots.]  I  came  here  to  speak  for  the 
man  who  is  now  President,  but  the  day  has  come  when  a  man  can  safely  come 
here  and  oppose  the  head  of  the  National  administration.  There  (pointing  to 
the  New  York  delegation)  sits  my  friend  Judge  Robertson,  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  the  collector  of  the  port  of  New  York,  coming  here,  like  an  honest  man 
and  a  brave-hearted  man  to  carry  out  his  views  directly  in  opposition  to  the  chief 
executive  of  the  Nation  [applause  and  laughter],  and  he  is  here  with  perfect 
safety  to  perform  that  service.  [Cries  of  "  turn  around,  we  can't  hear  you."]  I 
am  bound  to  say,  and  I  would  despise  myself  forever  if  I  did  not  say  it — much 
has  been  said  about  New  Yoik  State  politics.  Much  has  been  said  about  the 
New  York  machine,  with  Roscoe  Conkling  and  Thomas  C.  Platt  turning  the 
crank  of  the  machine.  [Laughter.]  I  have,  sir,  to  prove  that  Mr.  Arthur  has 
not  prostituted  his  office  to  the  purposes  of  faction.  I  have  but  to  point  to  the 
fact  that  Roscoe  Conkling  has  given  his  whole  influence  against  Mr.  Arthur,  and 
that  Thomas  C.  Platt,  the  man  that  resigned  his  office,  the  man  that  could  not 
stay  in  Garfield's  admini>tration  because  Mr.  Biaine  was  so  wicked  as  to  per 
suade  Garfield  to  nominate  Mr.  Robertson — [Mr.  Townsend  continued  his  per 
nicious  habit  of  turning  toward  the  rear  of  the  platform,  and  he  was  greeted  with 
frequent  cries  from  the  body  of  the  hall  of  "  This  way  !  Look  at  the  reporters !" 
and  other  expressions  of  disapproval  of  his  course.  He  finished  the  sentence 
upon  which  he  was  engaged  at  the  time  when  the  interruption  came  in,  as  fol 
lows:]  for  Collector  of  the  port  of  New  York. 

[Unable  to  restrain  his  desire  that  the  people  at  the  rear  of  the  speaker's  desk 
should  be  benefited  by  his  eloquence,  Mr.  Townsend  again  faced  to  the  rear,  and 
was  greeted  with  a  storm  of  his-es  which  startled  him  so  much  that  for  a  brief 
period  he  kept  his  face  to  the  front.  Proceeding  he  said  :  I  am  here  to-night  as 
a  delegate.  I  am  one  of  those  men — I  am  an  old  man,  but  I  am  one  of  those 
men  that  for  fifty  years  in  speaking  of  politics  have  uttered  just  the  sentiments 
that  I  feel  and  believe. 

Here  the  speaker  relapsed  into  his  old  habit  of  showing  his 
coat-tails  to  the  audience  in  front,  but  reversed  his  position  as 
soon  as  made  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  people  wished  to  look 
at  his  front  and  not  at  his  rear  elevation.  Again  settling  down 
to  his  work,  he  said  : 

And  although  the  work  is  out,  my  work  is  done.  If  it  is  the  last  act  of  my 
life,  I  want  to  call  the  attention  of  this  Convention  to  the  exhibition  that  we  have 
had  here  to-night  as  an  evidence  that  the  executive  chamber,  if  it  was  otherwise, 
is  not  now  a  caucus-room  of  faction.  [Applause.]  Now,  the  people,  when  we 
go  to  our  homes,  will  say:  "What  means  this?  Mr.  Arthur  has  had  every 
body's  commendation.  The  politicians  m  t  at  Chicago  and  were  compelled  by 
the  force  of  public  opinion  to  give  their  unqualified  commendation  for  the 
administration  of  Chester  A.  Arthur,  and  yet  he  was  not  renominated." 

Mr.  President,  when  you  took  the  chair,  in  speaking  of  the  great  and  glorious 
men  whose  names  would  come  before  this  Convention  for  consideration,  you  said 
that  this  Chester  A.  Arthur  had  justly  won  the  commendation,  "  Well  done,  good 


288  SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

and  faithful  servant,"  Sir,  you  quoted  from  a  book.  What  in  that  book  was 
said  should  be  done  with  the  well-doing  and  faithful  servant?  Turned  out  inic 
a  brush  pasture  to  starve  ?  That  is  not  the  doctrine  of  that  book.  The  good 
and  faithful  servant  is  everywhere  promised  his  reward.  That  is  a  womleifull) 
good  book,  and,  for  a  digression,  let  me  say  to  the  young  gentlemen,  not  menv 
bers  of  the  Convention,  who  cried  so  loudly  for  my  friend  Ingersoll  last  night 
that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  most  instructive  and  interesting  reading  in  that  book 
if  they  shall  have  the  grace  to  attend  to  it.  I  said  the  people  are  full  of  de 
termination  in  this  matter.  There  is  more,  sir.  In  meeting  an  intelligent  and 
tireless  enemy  the  Democratic  party  are  watching  for  a  break  in  our  army ;  the) 
have  their  lances  at  rest;  they  have  their  spears  pointed,  and  whenever  we  open 
our  armor  they  are  ready  to  pierce  the  Republican  party  to  the  heart,  \\l..\\.  will 
they  say  ?  Oh,  here !  oh,  here!  what  a  nice  party  you  are?  You  have  been 
prating  ten  years  about  reform  in  the  civil  service;  you  have  been  prating  ter 
years  about  having  a  non-factional  administration ;  you  have  found  one  your 
selves,  as  you  say,  and  yet  for  the  purpose  of  taking  up  somebody  else  you  have 
struck  down  and  cast  into  oblivion,  as  far  as  you  have  the  power  to  do  it,  the 
very  man  who  has  done  the  work  you  said  you  could  do,  and  have  spent  ten 
years  in  preparing  fur  lus  hand.  I  said  the  Democrats  could  do  anything!  They 
have  their  civil  service  reform;  they  had  their  Pendleton  in  Ohio;  they  clacked 
him  loudly;  they  patted  him  on  the  back  when  he  made  his  speeches  for  civil 
service  reform,  but  when  he  came  down  to  Ohio  for  recognition,  to  be  returned 
to  the  Senate,  they  whistled  him  down  the  wind.  It  will  do  well  to  strengthen 
the  party,  but  it  won't  strengthen  us.  These  men,  our  constituents,  will  look  into 
this.  In  the  days  of  James  II.  he  got  into  difficulty  with  a  bishop  and  he  im 
prisoned  nil  the  bishops,  and  among  them  was  Trelawney,  from  Cornwall,  the 
Bishop  of  Bristol.  The  Cornish  men  were  very  much  excited  because  their 
friend  was  in  danger,  and  a  message  was  sent  out,  the  burden  of  which  was: 
"  SI  all  Trelawney  die?  Shall  Trelawney  die?  Then  30,000  Cornish  men  will 
know  the  reason  why."  And  in  this  case,  strike  down  Aithur,  and  not  30,000 
Republicans,  but  thirty  times  30,000  Republicans  will  know  the  reason  why. 
[Applause.]  Now,  my  friends,  I  have  presented  substantially  the  considerations 
which  govern  me  in  proposing  the  action  which  I  intend  to  follow.  "We  have 
in  every  case  since  the  Republican  party  was  formed  done  on«  of  two  things. 
\Ve  have,  when  our  President  has  finished  his  term,  renomiiiated  him,  except  in 
the  ca-e  of  Mr.  Hayes,  who  refused  a  renomination  [laughter],  we  gave  him  a 
second  term.  \Ve  refused  t<>  give  General  Grant,  much  as  we  regarded  him,  a 
third  term.  These  are  the  traditions  of  the  p-irty — the  common  understandings 
— and  in  order  to  show  that- 1  give  the  d-mmon  understandings  of  the  party  I  lave 
to  quote  a  letter  from  the  mo>t  distinguished  statesman  in  the  northeasterly  por 
tion  of  the  Union,  written  on  the  2Cth  of  December,  1880,  in  view  of  the  incom 
ing  administration  of  Gai  field,  in  which  he  says,  speaking  of  the  administration, 
not  at  all  directing  its  energies  for  re-election  yrt  compelling  the  re-uH  by  the 
logic  of  events  and  the  imperious  necessities  of  the  situation.  So  said  that  great 
statesman  ;  so  has  said  every  man  ;  so  snys  the  community,  and  so  will  say  the 
voters,  and  God  grant  that  this  Convention  may  adopt  such  a  course  as  to  con 
ciliate  the  solid,  anxious  men  of  the  Republican  party  that  so  victory  in  Novem 
ber — so  important  to  the  well-being  of  this  country — may  again  perch  itself  for 
twenty-four  years  upon  the  Republican  banner. 


SELECTING  A  PRESIDENT.  289 

Mr.  Bingham,  of  Pennsylvania,  rose  to  second  the  nomina 
tion  of  Chester  A.  Arthur,  and  spoke  as  follows : 

Republican  Pennsylvania  will  utter  no  uncertain  sound  in  November  next 
[applause]  when  the  suffrages  of  her  industrious  people  will  roll  up  30,000  ma 
jority  for  the  nominee  of  this  Convention.  Manly,  outspoken  differences  of 
opinion  exist  in  the  Pennsylvania  delegation  as  to  the  choice  of  the  candidate 
who  will  cluster  around  him  the  largest  following  and  best  typify  the  principles 
of  our  party.  But  that  individual  judgment  will  be,  confined  to  the  walls  of  this 
Convention.  [Applause.]  And  when  its  judgment  is  uttered,  all  will  labor  and 
struggle  for  the  standard-bearer  of  that  pnrty.  [Loud  applause.]  I  have  risen 
to  second  the  nomination  of  Chester  A.  Arthur  [loud  applause],  and  in  so  rising 
and  doing  I  but  voice  the  unanimous  sentiment  of  the  last  Republican  Conven 
tion  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  every  State  in  this  broad  Union  [applause],  when 
they  pointed  with  pride  to  his  grand  administration  of  public  affairs,  congratu 
lated  the  people  upon  the  material  prosperity  of  the  country,  proclaimed  his  un 
wavering  fidelity,  his  fitness  and  capacity  for  high  trust ;  and  even  the  providence 
of  God  in  His  omniscience  and  omnipotence  placed  upon  him  the  obligation  of 
the  government  of  a  Christian  people.  [Loud  cheers.]  Unknown — unknown 
four  years  ago,  to-day  he  is  the  best-known  man  within  the  confines  of  the  Re 
public.  [Applause.]  Recognizing  as  I  do  the  high  responsibility  and  important 
duty  devolving  upon  this  Convention,  I  proclaim  that  no  record  and  no  name  so 
typifies  the  peace,  prosperity,  and  high  honor  of  this  Republic  as  the  name  of 
Chester  A.  Arthur.  [Loud  and  long  applause.]  Four  years  ago  in  this  Con 
vention  hall  the  plaudits  of  the  people  as  generous  and  as  enthusiastic  as  yours 
are  to-night,  indorsed  the  choice  of  the  Convention  by  the  suffrages  of  the  people. 
He  comes  to-night  and  lays  before  you  work  well  done,  duty  fulfilled,  honor 
maintained,  the  Republic  with  its  principles  still  living.  [Loud  applause.] 
Three  years  of  administration  of  public  affairs  and  he  brings  to  this  Convention 
the  great  Republican  party  reunited.  [Loud  applause.]  And  it  is  for  the  judg 
ment  and  the  wisdom  of  this  Convention  to  say  whether  that  party  shall  be  in 
vincible.  [Applause.]  Blazing  all  over  the  horizon  of  our  party's  birth  is  the 
brotherhood  of  man,  the  equality  before  the  law.  Abraham  Lincoln  [loud  ap 
plause]  believed,  as  the  Republican  party  believed,  that  all  men  were  created 
equal ;  and  when  the  havoc  of  war  was  at  its  highest,  when  the  legions  of  the 
dead  were  thickest  around  us,  he  proclaimed  to  the  people  emancipation  to  the 
black  men;  and  to-day,  in  all  this  wide  land,  the  sun  never  rises  upon  a  bonds 
man  or  sets  upon  a  slave.  [Loud  applause.]  He  was  God's  chosen  ruler  for 
God's  great  purposes.  Then  in  convention  ass«mbled,  with  duty  done  nnd  obli 
gation  fulfilled,  the  representatives  of  the  people  in  1864  said  to  him  :  "Well 
done,  good  and  faithful  servant.  Carry  the  banner  again  for  law,  for  liberty,  for 
the  Nation's  union,  and  for  victory." 

The  great  and  silent  soldier  who  was  sent  from  the  armies  of  the  West  to 
break  in  the  almost  impregnable  barriers  surrounding  the  capital  of  rebellion, 
marshaled  the  matchless  and  masterful  armies  of  the  North  and  swept  into 
Treason's  stronghold,  and  the  capitulation  upon  the  field  of  Appomattox  is 
familiar  to  all.  Great  in  war,  he  was  greater  in  peace,  and  the  suffrages  of  the 
people  lifted  him  up  into  the  chair  of  Washington  and  Lincoln,  and  four  years 
afterward  in  the  National  Convention  at  Philadelphia,  and  into  them  the  declar- 


29°  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

ation  of  duty  well  done,  they  gave  him  the  unanimous  nomination  o.  the  Repub 
lican  party. 

Rutherford  B.  Hayes — [pause  and  hisses] — Rutherford  B.  Hayes  gave  a  wise 
and  prudent,  safe  and  conservative  administration,  acceptable  to  all  the  lovers 
of  good  government.  [Applause.]  But  when  he  took  the  oath  of  office  he 
made  public  the  declaration  that  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  he  would  go  back 
to  the  people  of  his  Stale  who  had  honored  him  on  many  occasions,  and  by 
whom  he  had  always  been  loved.  Who  can  forget  the  scenes  in  this  hall  four 
years  ago  when  Ohio  and  New  York  were  joined  in  bonds  that  death  only  could 
part  ?  I  cannot  and  I  will  not  attempt  to  picture  these  scenes  that  follow.  History 
will  record  them.  Around  the  name  of  Garfield  clusters  the  grandest  recollec 
tions  in  American  history.  [Applause.]  Nominated  in  this  hall,  the  enthusiastic 
response  of  the  people  of  that  safe  Republican  State,  Ohio,  was  unmistakable  and 
positive.  The  powtr,  the  force,  the  strength  of  the  name  of  Chester  A.  Arthur  [ap 
plause]  welded  to  the  Republican  column  the  doubtful  and  wavering  State  of  New 
York.  [Applause.]  Garfield,  the  idol  of  the  people — may  his  grave  ever  be 
green,  and  may  the  tears  of  the  American  people  ever  water  it.  Ashes  to  ashes, 
dust  to  dust ;  he  is  gone  who  seemed  so  great.  Gone,  but  nothing  can  bereave 
him  of  the  force  he  made  his  own  being  here,  and  we  believe  him  something  far 
advanced  in  State,  and  that  he  wears  a  higher  crown  than  any  wreath  that  man 
Can  weave  him.  [Applause  ]  God  accept  him  !  Christ  receive  him.  [Ap 
plause.]  Into  the  firm,  strong  hands  of  Chester  A.  Arthur  [applause]  fell  the 
baton  of  power  and  empire.  A  great  man  died,  but  a  great  and  brave  man 
stood  at  the  helm,  and  the  ship  called  State  rode  through  the  storm  safely  into 
the  harbor  of  peace  and  prosperity.  [Great  applause.]  The  Republican  party 
has  not  been  unmindful  of  wise  administration  and  able  leaderships  in  the  past. 
Lincoln  reaffirmed  in  tin-;  title  and  his  office.  Grant  reindorsed  in  his  title  and 
his  office,  and  what  have  you  to  say  to-day,  remembering  that  peace  hath  her 
victories  no  less  renowned  than  war.  [Applause.]  He  comes  to  you  and  he 
tells  you,  "  Exercise  your  critical,  yet  best  judgment.  Examine  the  record.  If 
you  find  a  flaw,  condemn."  If  it  is  the  record  of  your  party  you  should  approve. 
[Applause.]  How  stand  your  finances?  The  integrity  of  his  administration 
has  never  been  questioned,  nor  never  assailed.  I  point  to  you  the  enterprise  and 
capital  of  this  great  city.  I  point  to  you  the  exhibition  in  New  York  city  but  a 
few  weeks  ago  from  the  representative  business-men  of  the  country.  In  this 
gathering  to-night  one  hundred  of  that  great  body  are  present.  Does  capital 
need  protection?  Let  me  answer  and  say  that  to-day  more  than  at  any  time  in 
the  last  decade  must  capital  be  protected.  Read  the  recent  decision  of  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  the  United  States  on  the  paper-money  question,  and  then  tell 
me  that  in  the  executive  chair  an  incorruptible  chief  is  not  necessary. 

[A  voice  in  the  gallery,  "  Humph."]  Now  we  have  already  gained  one  great 
victory  in  the  freedom  of  the  black  men.  The  judgment  and  comiciion  of  the 
South,  and  the  men  of  the  South  will  ever  be  with  us  in  their  deliberations  until 
every  man,  white  and  black,  can  cast  his  ballot  with  freedom  arid  have  it  fa  rly 
counted.  [Applause.]  Wipe  out  from  the  banner  of  the  Republican  party  the 
legends  that  have  been  written  there  by  the  people  of  the  down-trodden  South, 
and  you  have  only  a  flag  proclaiming  material  prosperity  and  material  success. 
In  rising,  therefore,  to  second  the  nomination  of  Chester  A.  Arthur  [applause], 
I  conclude  as  I  began,  that  the  well-exprrssrd  and  well-digested  judgment  of 
every  Convention  of  the  United  Stales  is  that  he  has  faiihfuily  and  well  performed 


SELECTING   A   PRESIDENT.  29 1 

his  duty,  and  it  is  for  this  Convention  to-night  to  decide  whether  the  written  and 
unwritten  law  of  our  party  shall  any  longer  be  recognized  in  the  Republican 
National  Convention. 

How  about  your  foreign  relations  ?  Messages  of  love  and  respect  are  only  in 
terchanged.  The  State  Department  to-day  is  only  in  receipt  of  the  recognition 
of  high  character  and  standing,  love,  and  affection  of  the  nations  abroad  for  this 
American  Republic.  How  about  your  surplus  revenue  ?  I  refer  you  to  his  veto. 
Even  when  the  legislation  that  was  condemned  has  been  formulated  by  his  own 
party,  and  gained  in  the  advancing  position  that  the  Republican  party  has  taken 
upon  the  wise  administration  of  public  trust  known  as  the  civil  service.  Stand 
ing  on  that  platform  to-night  the  leader  and  the  chairman  of  the  New  York  dele- 
g.tion,  who,  for  advanced  thought,  for  high  leadership,  and  for  National  states- 
man>hip,  no  man  exceeds  him ;  what  was  his  answer  to  the  fulfilment  of  the 
duty  of  Chester  A.  Arthur  in  reference  to  the  administration  of  the  civil  service 
enactment?  He  said,  "I  can  only  trust  and  hope  in  the  deliberation  of  this 
Convention."  The  gentleman  himself  may  have  the  opportunity  to  so  express 
to  this  gathered  multitude.  One  word  more.  [Cheers.]  From  this  platform 
to-night,  in  language  eloquent,  in  figure  perfect  and  beautiful,  there  was  uttered 
sentiments  that  I  cannot,  as  a  Republican,  approve.  When  in  this  Convention 
of  principles  and  equals  we  foster  the  fundamental  doctrine  of  my  party  and  your 
party,  to  be  told  that  the  highest  judgment,  the  completest  conception  of  the  duty 
of  the  Republican  party  was  to  be  found  only  where  Republican  electoral  votes 
could  be  counted,  is  to  my  mind  a  sentiment  and  a  principle  to  be  condemned. 
All  over  the  South  its  free  vacant  fields  have  been  the  camping-ground  for  the 
armies  that  fought  for  Republican  principle  and  Republican  thought. 

The  Chair — Gentlemen,  I  take  great  pleasure  in  introducing 
Mr.  Lynch,  of  Mississippi. 

Mr.  Lynch  came  forward  and  said:  It  seems  to  me  that  veiy  little  remains 
for  me  to  say ;  therefore  I  will  say  a  very  few  words.  I  recognize  the  fact  that 
I  come  from  a  State  that  is  at  present  in  a  prostrate  political  condition.  In  con 
sequence  of  that  fact  I  hope  you  will  not  think  it  is  immodest  in  me  to  give  you  a 
few  reasons  why,  in  my  opinion,  the  man  of  my  choice  should  receive  the  nom 
ination  of  this  Convention,  though  the  State  from  which  I  corne  is  at  present 
politically  powerless  to  contribute  to  the  success  of  the  nominees  of  this  Con-  - 
vention,  yet  our  voters  are  there,  having  loyal  hearts,  patriotic  impulses,  and  a 
determination  to  do  whatever  they  can.  Let  me  say  that  the  Republicans  of  my 
section  have  no  feeling  of  ill-will,  no  feeling  of  antipathy  toward  any  one  of  the 
distinguished  gentlemen  whose  names  have  been  presented  to  this  Convention, 
or  may  hereafter  be  presented.  We  entertain  for  all  of  them  the  highest  admira 
tion,  the  profoundest  respect,  and  we  are  determined  that  whichever  one  may  re 
ceive  the  nomination  from  this  Convention  will  receive  our  cordial  and  united 
support.  Then,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  feel  that  I  express  the  holiest  wish,  the  sin- 
cerest  desire  of  every  member  of  this  Convention  when  I  say  that  whatever  dif 
ferences  may  have  existed  in  our  ranks  heretofore,  whatever  factions  may  have 
existed  in  days  gone  by,  when  we  leave  this  hall  we  all  hope  that  every  sore  shall 
have  been  healed,  and  every  faction  shall  have  been  destroyed.  [Cheers.]  The 
Republicans  of  my  section  believe  that  the  present  administration  should  be  con 
tinued,  because  Mr.  Chester  A.  Arthur  [applause]  has  given  us  a  safe,  clean, 
pure,  honest  administration.  [Applause.] 


292  SELECTING  A  PRESIDENT. 

A  Voice — How  about  the  shot-gun  ? 

Mr.  Lynch  (continuing) — We  believe  that  having  done  so  well  he  ought  to  \» 
allowed  to  continue  at  least  another  term  in  well-doing.  \Ve  believe  that  having 
been  compelled,  in  consequence  of  circumstances  which  he  could  not  control 
and  which  all  of  us  seriously  deplore,  to  assume  the  President's  chair,  he  hai 
done  better  than  his  friends  expected,  and  certainly  did  better  than  his  enemie 
expected;  therefore  we  believe  that  he  is  a  wise,  safe,  prudent,  judicious  parti 
leader,  and  believing  that  our  desire  is  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  succeed  him 
self.  Whether  this  be  the  choice  of  this  Convention  or  not,  I  am  satisfied  in  mi 
own  mind  that,  whoever  the  nominee  may  be.no  man  will  do  more  to  contrilmt< 
to  his  success  than  the  present  occupant  of  the  Presidential  chair,  the  Hon.  dies 
ter  A.  Arthur.  He  lias  never  failed,  and  I  am  satisfied  he  will  not  fail  hereafter 
He  will  not  fail,  he  will  not  falter;  he  \\ill  not  say  that  "  I  am  the  only  man  tha 
can  be  elected."  His  friends  do  not  say,  I  do  not  say,  that  Mr.  Arthur  is  th< 
only  man  we  can  elect,  for  I  believe  we  can  elect  anybody  we  nominate.  [Ap 
plause.]  But  we  believe  he  should  have  an  opportunity  to  succeed  himself 
That  is  all.  [Applause.]  One  more  reason  and  I  will  take  my  seat.  We  al 
know  that  Arthur  is  an  earnest,  a  sincere  advocate  of  civil  service  reform.  Al 
of  us  are  civil  service  reformers,  the  office-holders  included  ;  I  may  say  the  office 
holders  especially.  We  have  declared  in  our  platform  for  civil  service  reform 
Mr.  Arthur  is  known  to  be  sincere  and  honest  in  the  advocacy  of  civil  servici 
reform.  Give  him  an  opportunity  to  do  a  little  better  than  he  has  done.  Gen 
tlemen,  it  is  not  worth  while  for  me  to  say  more  than  simply  to  express  the  hop( 
that  you  will  ratify  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Arthur  when  you  come  to  the  ballot 
[Applause.] 

The  Chair  then  introduced  Mr.  Winston,  of  North  Carolina 
who  seconded  the  nomination  as  follows : 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  this  Convention  :  The  victory  of  arms  won  01 
the  physical  field  of  Appomattox  was  not  more  glorious  than  the  moral  victor 
that  lies  within  the  grasp  of  the  Republican  party.  A  generation  has  grown  uj 
south  of  the  Potomac  whose  accepted  watchword  is :  "  This  shall  no  longer  be  i 
union  of  two  opposing  sections,  but  a  union  of  50,000,000  of  freemen."  [Ap 
plause.]  The  unrivaled  glory  of  past  sacrifices  endured  by  the  patriotic  Unior 
men  of  the  South  appeals  irresistibly  to  the  sympathy  of  those  that  have  con 
tributed  to  freedom  the  proudest  page  in  its  annals. 

Let  the  friends  of  freedom  in  the  North  now  come  and  touch  elbows  on  th< 
march  with  their  fellow-countrymen  of  the  South,  and  the  solid  South  will  b< 
broken  forever.  Why,  since  the  close  of  the  war  North  Carolina  has  given  hei 
electoral  vote  to  the  Republican  candidate  for  President.  The  great  Stale  of 
New  York  has  done  no  more.  Because  we  are  determined  that  henceforth  w< 
will  be  found  in  the  front  rank  of  the  party  of  progress,  we  are  here  to-day  with 
the  courage  of  our  convictions.  [Applause.]  Upon  what  principle  shall  w( 
proceed  to  select  our  candidate  for  President?  We  are  at  pence  with  the  world 
Our  national  honor  is  without  stain.  Honest  labor  is  paid  with  honest  money: 
capital  is  secure.  There  is  not  one  of  us  who  does  not  feel  that  his  «wn  condi 
tion  and  the  condition  of  ihe  country  are  largely  due  to  the  ability  and  intelli 
gence  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  The  Republican  party  presentee 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  293 

to  the  world  the  sublime  character  of  Abraham  Lincoln  as  the  representative  of 
its  principles.  An  era  of  peace  is  before  us.  Let  us  choose  a  leader  to-night  who 
represents  peace,  prosperity,  and  progress.  Such  a  leader  is  the  exponent  of  all 
that  is  best  in  the  party,  is  the  choice  of  the  conservative  element  of  the  country, 
and  on  behalf  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina  I  second  the  nomination  of 
Chester  A.  Arthur. 

Mr.  Mead,  of  California — It  is  now  past  eleven  o'clock, 
and  these  people  are  tired,  and  I  move,  sir,  that  this  Conven 
tion  adjourn — 

Here  the  speaker's  voice  was  drowned  amid  cries  of  "  No, 
no! " 

The  Chair — The  motion  is  in  order.  Gentlemen,  the  motion 
has  been  seconded,  and  all  those  in  favor  of  adjournment  until 
to-morrow  at  ten  o'clock  will  say  aye. 

To  which  there  was  rather  a  feeble  response. 

The  Chair — Contrary,  no. 

To  which  there  was  a  loud  and  prolonged  response  of 
"  No." 

The  Chairman  then  introduced  the  Hon.  P.  B.  S.  Pinchback, 
of  Louisiana.  Mr.  Pinchback  spoke  as  follows : 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  :  This  is  the  second  time  in 
my  life  that  I  have  had  the  honor  to  rise  in  a  National  Convention  to  second  the 
nomination  of  one  of  our  distinguished  fellow-citizens.  I  have  not  arisen  in 
this  Convention  to  second  the  nomination  of  General  Chester  A.  Arthur  alone 
[applause  and  cries  of  "  Louder"],  but  I  have  taken  the  floor  for  the  purpose  of 
meeting  some  of  the  accusations  that  have  been  brought  against  Southern  Re 
publicans.  1  desire  to  say  that  if  Southern  Republicans  come  into  this  Conven 
tion  and  second  the  nomination  of  Chester  A.  Arthur,  it  is  not  because  they  de 
sire  to  dictate  to  this  Convention,  or  to  the  Republican  States  of  the  North,  who 
will  be  called  upon  to  furnish  the  electoral  vote,  but  because  we  have  noticed 
in  the  South  that  every  State  Convention  held  in  the  great  Northern  States,  so 
far  as  I  have  seen,  have  with  singular  unanimity,  indorsed  the  administration  of 
General  Chester  A.  Arthur.  [Applause.]  We  feel  in  the  South  that  in  the 
present  occupant  of  the  White  House  we  have  a  prudent,  a  safe  and  a  reliable 
ruler;  a  man  who  is  not  only  acceptable  to  the  Republicans  of  the  North,  and, 
what  is  still  better  than  all  this,  a  man  who  is  acceptable  to  the  Republic.  [Ap 
plause.]  I  can  say  to  you,  gentlemen,  that  on  my  way  from  New  Orleans  to  this 
Convention,  all  along  the  line  of  the  railroad,  in  conversation  with  the  citizens 
generally,  the  substantial  citizens  of  the  country,  I  was  admonished  to  stand  by 
General  Chester  A.  Arthur.  [Applause.]  I  was  told  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  by  the 
members  of  several  of  the  leading  business  firms  of  that  city,  that  if  Chester  A. 


2Q4  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

Arthur  was  nominated  the  business  men  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  would  give  him  10,- 
ooo  more  votes  in  Kentucky  than  had  ever  been  cast  for  any  Republican  candi 
date.  [Applause.]  I  was  told  in  Louisville  by  the  sugar-planters,  and  by  the 
people  who  are  interested  in  the  tariff  question,  that  if  the  Republican  National 
Convention  should  fail  to  put  a  protective  plank  in  their  platform  to  put  in  the 
field  an  independent  electoral  ticket  in  their  State  and  give  their  votes  for  its 
election.  [Applause.]  I  second  the  nomination  of  General  Chester  A.  Arthui 
for  these  reasons.  They  are  to  me  evidences  that  he  is  nut  only  a  fit  and  propel 
candidate,  but  I  conscientiously  believe  that  he  has  the  best  chance  of  any  gen 
tleman  whose  name  has  thus  far  been  placed  before  this  Convention  of  carrying 
the  country  in  November  next.  [Applause.]  I  hear  delegates  in  this  Conven 
tion  talking  about  New  York, 'and  talking  about  what  Grant  will  do  and  Mr 
Conkling  will  do,  and  what  this  man  or  that  man  will  do;  but  I  want  to  say  tc 
you  that  I  have  spent  a  good  deal  of  my  time  in  New  York  within  the  last  year 
and  I  am.  here  to  say  that  for  every  vote  lost  to  Chester  A.  Arthur  by  the  disaf 
fection  of  the  gentlemen  named  he  will  gain  two.  There  is  a  strong  senfimenl 
in  the  minds  of  the  people  and  a  strong  belief  in  the  minds  of  the  people  of  New 
York,  as  well  as  there  is  in  many  other  sections  of  this  country,  the  trouble 
between  these  gentlemen  is  that  General  Chester  A.  Arthur  was  President  instead 
of  somebody  else.  I  believe  that  it  is  the  desire  of  this  Convention,  I  believt 
it  is  the  desire  of  the  Republican  party,  I  believe  i  is  the  desire  of  the  greal 
American  people,  that  whoever  shall  occupy  the  Presidential  office  shall  b< 
President  of  all  these  United  States.  [Applause.]  I  am  in  favor  of  Chester  A, 
Arthur  for  the  additional  reason  that  my  constituents  are  in  favor  of  him  ;  and 
while  they  failed  to  instruct  me  to  cast  my  vote  for  him,  they  made  it  manifest  in 
many  ways  that  they  desired  me  to  cast  my  vote  for  him;  and  I  know  that  whai 
is  true  in  Louisiana  is  largely  true  of  every  Southern  State,  and  I  know  thai 
most  of  the  Southern  delegates  left  their  homes  with  the  impression  upon  the 
country  that  they  were  in  favor  of  General  Chester  A.  Arthur.  I  have  seen  in 
the  prints  since  I  have  been  on  my  way  to  this  Convention  rumors  that  we  were 
a  mercantile  element ;  that  especially  the  colored  delegate  to  this  Convention 
would  be  bought  and  sold  like  so  many  sheep.  I  want  l>y  my  vote  in  this  Con 
vention — and  I  hope  to  have  the  vote  of  every  other  colored  man  recorded  in 
the  same  way,  in  favor  of  General  Chester  A.  Arthur — to  give  the  lie  to  these 
rumors.  [Applause.]  I  want  to  demonstrate  by  our  fealty  to  this  chosen  chief 
of  ours  that  we  are  as  pure  and  incorruptible  in  our  holding  public  trusts  as  the 
whitest  man  that  may  sit  beneath  this  roof.  [Applause.]  If  I  had  no  other 
reason  but  this — so  important  is  it  to  me  to  lift  up  the  standard  of  integrity  of 
my  people — that  alone  would  induce  me  to  stand  by  General  Chester  A.  Arthui 
as  long  as  his  name  is  before  this  Convention.  [Applause.] 

The  Chair — The  Secretary  will  continue  the  call  of  the  roll 
of  States. 

The  Secretary — North  Carolina,  Ohio.  [Loud  applause, 
during  which  Judge  Foraker,  of  Ohio,  came  on  the  platform.] 

The  Chair — Judge  Foraker,  of  Ohio.     [Loud  applause.] 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

Judge  Foraker — Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  : — If  noise 
and  demonstration  and  nominating  and  seconding  speeches,  when  numerically 
considered,  could  either  nominate  a  candidate  or  elect  him  to  be  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  I  would  not,  in  view  of  what  has  transpired  in  this  hall  to 
night,  take  this  stand  to  perform  the  duty  that  has  been  imposed  upon  me.  But 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  such  results  do  not  necessarily  follow  such  demonstrations, 
but  more  particularly  in  view  of  the  fact  that  these  demonstrations  are  conflicting, 
and  these  orators  are  opposing,  I  am  emboldened  to  come  before  you  that  I  may 
in  an  humble  way  say  a  few  plain  words  for  a  plain,  but  a  very  great  and  grand 
man.  [Loud  applause.]  But,  sirs,  first  and  foremost,  I  want  to  say  again,  here 
and  now,  what  I  have  had  to  repeat  so  many  times  since  I  came  to  Chicago  to 
attend  this  Convention,  and  that  is  that  Ohio  is  a  Republican  State.  [Applause.] 
She  will  cast  her  electoral  vote  for  the  nominee  of  this  Convention.  [Cries  of 
"  Good,  good,"  and  applause.]  But,  sirs,  she  claims  no  credit  and  she  asks  no 
favor  on  that  account.  She  would  be  untrue  to  herself  if  she  did  otherwise.  She 
could  not  do  less  without  injustice  to  the  memory  and  teachings  of  a  long  line 
of  distinguished  sons  who  have  won  imperishable  renown  for  themselves  and 
their  country,  both  on  the  field  and  in  the  Cabinet.  I  am  not  here,  therefore,  to 
ask  anything  for  her  nor  in  her  name  as  a  condition  precedent.  On  the  contrary, 
let  it  be  distinctly  understood  that  whatever  she  may  do  in  other  years — and  I 
happen  to  know  that  she  sometimes  acts  strangely  [laughter  and  applause] — she 
never  failed  to  carry  our  flag  to  victory  in  Presidential  campaigns.  She  has 
always  been  ready  to  enthusiastically  follow  the  chosen  leader  of  the  party,  and 
she  was  never  more  so  than  at  the  present  time.  To-day,  as  in  the  past,  her 
highest  ambition  is  that  with  her  October  election  she  may  worthily  and  victori 
ously  lead  the  Republican  column.  [Loud  applause.]  If,  therefore,  it  be  true 
that  in  the  past  she  has  enjoyed  distinguished  favor,  she  humbly  hopes  that  it 
has  been  no*nore  than  a  just  recognition  accorded  by  her  generous  sister  States. 
And  if  she  is  proud  of  the  names  of  Grant  and  Sherman  and  Sheridan  and  Mc- 
Pherson  and  Chase  and  Stanton  and  Hayes  and  Garfield  it  is  only  because  of 
their  illustrious  services  to  the  whole  people ;  the  whole  people  are  proud  of 
them  also.  [Applause.]  And  if  for  these  distinguished  men  Ohio  first  claimed 
National  consideration  and  honor,  it  was  not  because  they  were  her  sons,  but 
only  because,  the  better  knowing  their  worth,  she  put  them  forward  for  the  com 
mon  good.  She  has  had  no  selfish  purposes  to  subserve.  She  has  none  such 
to-day.  She  fully  recognizes  and  appreciates  the  fact  that  what  is  best  for  the 
whole  Republican  party  is  best  also  for  her.  Moved  by  no  other  feeling,  she  has 
a  name  to  place  before  this  Convention.  You  have  heard  it  before.  From  one 
end  of  the  land  to  the  other  it  is  as  familiar  as  a  household  word.  It  is  the  name 
of  a  man  who  has  been  an  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Republican  party  for 
the  last  thirty  years.  He  is  identified  with  every  triumph  of  our  most  wonderful 
career.  He  stood  at  the  fore  front  in  the  struggles  with  slavery.  He  was  a  very 
pillar  of  strength  to  the  government  in  its  death-rattle  with  secession.  His 
personal  impress  is  upon  every  line  of  reconstruction,  and  when  our  National 
integrity  had  been  preserved  by  the  valor  of  our  soldiers  on  the  field,  and  there 
came  that  wild  and  senseless  mania  of  inflation  that  threatened  to  sweep  the 
country  and  tarnish  the  National  honor,  it  was  his  luck  to  stand  in  the  breach  as 
no  other  man  stood.  [Applause.]  Save  only  the  war  that  was  the  greatest 
danger  that  ever  manaced  the  American  people.  A  failure  to  resume  specie 
payment  in  1879  would  have  been  almost  as  thoroughly  fatal  to  this  Republic  as 

18 


2g6  SELECTING    A    ^RESIDENT. 

would  have  been  success  for  Lee  at  Gettysburg.  It  was  patriotic  courage  ar 
heroism  in  the  one  case  no  more  than  in  the  other  that  saved  the  day  and  a 
complished  for  us  the  sublime  results  in  which  we  have  ever  since  rejoice* 
The  people  of  this  country  know  and  appreciate  that  fact — and  they  still  have 
profoundly  great  recollection  of  the  services  thus  rendered.  And  this  is  especial! 
true  at  this  particular  time,  when  Wall  street  gambling  and  what  you  charai 
terized  in  the  platform  this  day  adopted  as  Democratic  horizontal  reduction,  ha\ 
done  their  bad  work.  The  flood-tide  of  prosperity  has  been  arrested,  and  v 
have  been  brought  through  the  several  stages  of  stagnation  and  decline  to  ll 
very  verge  of  business  demoralization  and  panic.  Confidence  has  been  shake 
and  impaired.  Its  restoration  is  to  be  the  controlling  question  of  the  comir 
campaign,  and  if  we  would  act  wisely  here  we  must  recognize  that  fact  an 
make  our  nomination  accordingly.  What  man,  then,  of  all  those  presented  I 
this  body  for  consideration  most  fittingly  and  completely  meets  the  prefermen 
of  this  situation  ?  In  answering  that  question  I  can  say,  as  others  have  sai 
here  to-night,  that  I  have  no  thought  or  word  of  detraction  or  disparagemei 
for  any  other  name  that  you  will  be  called  upon  to  consider,  and  in  the  languaj 
of  that  platform,  as  it  was  read  by  our  friend  from  New  York  to-night,  I,  to> 
can  say,  and  I  do  say  without  hesitation,  that  in  the  present  chief  magistrate  v 
have  had  a  wise,  a  conservative,  and  a  patriotic  administration.  [Applause 
And  I  can  say,  too,  that  no  man's  admiration  is  greater  than  mine  for  th 
brilliant  genius  from  Maine. 

Another  boisterous  demonstration  followed  this  mention  c 
the  name  of  the  man  from  Maine,  which,  in  vehemence  an 
fervor  on  the  part  of  the  audience  and  comparative  apathy  o 
the  part  of  the  delegates,  outdid  all  former  ebullitions.  To  th 
tune  of  the  most  discordant  yells  from  the  galleries,  hats,  flag 
handkerchiefs  and  articles  of  wearing  apparel  were  flashed  an 
fluttered  wildly  about,  and  the  air  trembled  with  the  concu! 
sion.  One  enthusiastic  gentleman  seized  a  flagstaff,  and  th 
plumed  floral  helmet  was  paraded  around  the  hall,  drawin 
out  a  still  more  frantic  outburst  of  yells  and  shrieks.  In  th 
midst  of  the  uproar  the  band  struck  up  some  indistinguishabl 
tune,  but  the  throat  capacity  of  the  audience  was  more  tha 
equal  to  the  music,  and  the  bazoo-rippers  and  drum-thumper 
were  drowned  out  as  effectually  as  if  they  had  been  playin 
against  the  rolling  thunder  of  Niagara.  After  some  twelve  c 
thirteen  minutes  of  bedlam,  the  audience  responded  to  th 
summons  of  the  gavel  and  subsided  into  semi-silence. 

Judge  Foraker  resumed  as  follows : 


SELECTING   A   PRESIDENT.  297 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention :  I  shall  not  compliment  anybody  else  until  I 
come  to  iny  own  man.  And  resuming,  permit  me  to  remind  you  that  you  have 
violated  an  old,  time-honored  maxim,  "  Never  to  holler  until  you  are  out  of  the 
woods."  [Cheers  and  applause.]  You  should  not  do  so,  for  I  want  to  say 
something  now  that  you  will  not  want  to  applaud.  For  that  which  I  want  to 
say  further  to  this  Convention  is  this :  That  what  we  want,  what  we  must  have, 
what  we  stand  here  to-night,  charged  with  the  grave  and  responsible  duty  of 
laying  the  foundation  for,  is  success  in  November  next;  and  to  that  end,  that  we 
may  have  that  success,  we  must  nominate  a  man  who  will  make  not  only  a  good 
President,  but  the  best  possible  candidate.  [Cheers  and  applause.]  That  is 
what  we  want;  and  to  that  end  we  want  a  man  who  is  distinguished  not  so  much 
for  the  brilliancy  of  his  genius  as  for  that  other  safer,  better,  and  more  assuring 
quality,  the  brilliancy  of  common  sense.  [Applause.]  We  not  only  want  a 
man  who  is  a  pronounced  Republican,  thoroughly  tried  and  in  the  crucial  test  of 
experience  [at  this  moment  the  speaker  was  interrupted  by  loud  and  continuous 
calls  of  the  name  of  Elaine],  but  we  want  also  a  man  whose  very  name  will  al 
lay  instead  of  exciting  the  distrust  that  disturbs  the  industrial  interests  of  this 
country.  [Applause.]  He  must,  of  course,  as  gentlemen  have  eloquently  said 
from  this  platform  to-night,  be  a  friend  to  human  liberty,  to  equality  of 
rights.  [Cries  of  "Elaine"  from  the  gallery  and  all  over  the  house.]  He 
could  not  be  a  Republican  if  he  was  not.  He  must  believe,  as  it  has 
been  well  said,  in  the  protection  of  American  citizens  at  home  as  well  as 
abroad.  Not  only  that,  but  he  must  be  a  man  who  can  find  under  the  Con 
stitution  and  laws  of  this  country  some  method  whereby  the  brutal  butcheries 
of  Danville  and  Copiah  may  be  prevented.  [Applause.]  Not  only  must  he  be 
lieve  in  these  things,  but  there  is  one  thing  in  which  our  platform  reminded  us 
to-day  that  he  must  not  believe  in,  and  that  is,  a  substantial  reduction  of  the 
duties  on  iron  and  steel  and  wool.  On  the  contrary,  he  must  believe,  and  that, 
too,  in  the  most  unqualified  sense,  just  as  we  have  declared  here  to-day,  in  the 
protection  of  American  industries,  the  development  of  American  resources,  and 
in  the  elevation  and  dignity  of  American  labor  [applause]  ;  and  not  only  must 
he  believe  in  these  elementary  and  fundamental  propositions  of  Republicanism, 
but  he  must  have  a  record  so  clear,  so  bright,  as  to  not  only  challenge,  but  defy, 
criticism  and  assault,  and  at  the  same  time  make  him  a  representative  of  all  the 
highest  and  purest  motives  and  aspirations  of  the  great  Republican  party;  and 
over  and  above  all  this  he  must  be  a  man  in  whom  the  people  believe.  [Cries 
of  "Elaine,  Elaine."]  Judge  Foraker,  continuing:  Oh,  no,  sir,  no,  sir — not 
simply  that  he  is  honest,  not  simply  that  he  is  capable,  not  simply  that  he 
loves  Republicanism  and  hates  Democracy,  not  simply  that  he  is  loyal  and 
patriotic,  but  that  combined  with  all  these  essential  attributes  he  possesses  by 
reason  of  his  experience  that  essential  qualification  that  makes  him  most  potent 
to  deliver  us  from  the  evils  that  threaten  our  present  safety.  Nominate  such  a 
man,  and  victory  is  assured  ;  we  will  have  four  more  years  of  Republican  rule, 
during  which  time  this  Republic  will  continue  to  grow  with  greatness  at  home 
and  increased  respect  abroad.  As  such  a  man  I  nominate  John  Sherman,  of 
Ohio.  [Applause.] 

The  Chair — I  take  pleasure  in  introducing  Judge  Holt,  of 
Kentucky. 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  :  The  responsibility  resting  on 
this  Convention  is  beyond  measure.  Over  fifty  millions  of  people,  living  in  mil 
lions  of  prosperous  homes,  in  this  country  are  demanding  of  us  careful  delibera 
tion  and  forbidding  hasty  action.  The  enthusiasm  for  a  candidate  is  to  be  ad 
mired,  but  our  candidate  and  the  nominee  of  this  Convention  should  be  selected 
after  careful  consideration  and  without  bitterness.  The  people  of  this  country 
demand  that  we  shall  place  before  them  for  their  indorsement  a  safe,  prudent, 
experienced  man,  and  a  man  of  the  highest  type  of  American  politics.  [Cheers.] 
I  rise  to  second  the  nomination  of  a  man  whose  history  is  a  part  of  that  of  the 
Republican  party  of  this  country,  and  who  has  followed  its  fortunes  through  its 
dark  as  well  as  its  bright  hour;  followed  it  faithfully,  no  matter  where  it  took 
him,  though  it  might  be  in  front  of  calumny  or  disaster,  has  followed  it  faithfully 
through  all  its  hours,  and  who,  by  reason  of  his  services  to  his  party,  and,  above 
all,  to  his  country,  is  entitled  to  such  indorsement,  and  whose  nomination  by  this 
Convention  would  sink  personal  and  sectional  differences  beneath  the  wave.  A 
quarter  of  a  century  ago  the  name  of  John  Sherman  was  history  in  the  politics 
of  this  country.  [Applause.]  His  name  has  been  written  as  that  of  a  master 
upon  the  legislation  of  this  country  and  the  execution  of  its  laws.  During  all 
that  time  his  name  has  been  exposed  to  the  blaze  of  public  opinion,  and  it  has 
never,  never  been  scorched.  But  there  is  another  reason,  gentlemen,  why  I 
came  here  to  second  this  nomination.  Although  he  was  born  in  a  time  when 
great  ability  was  needed  for  an  office  of  high  trust,  although  .he  executed  the 
laws  of  resumption  in  such  a  way  as  to  enroll  credit  upon  our  national  ban 
ner  and  our  national  history,  although  that  fact  perhaps  added  more  to  the  suc 
cess  of  the  Republican  cause  four  years  ago  than  any  other  fact,  if  there  is  other 
reason  why  he  is  entitled  to  honor  and  credit,  what  is  it  ?  Speaking  as  a  Repub 
lican  from  the  South — a  Republican  in  the  South  as  long  as  there  has  been  a 
Republican  party  in  the  South — I  undertake  to  say  that  John  Sherman  has  always 
been  an  advocate  of  freedom  of  opinion  and  thought,  and  of  civil  rights,  and  of 
absolute  liberty  as  against  slavery.  [Cheers.]  As  long  ago  as  the  days  when  it 
was  a  question  whether  the  Territory  of  Kansas  should  be  cursed  with  slavery  or 
blessed  with  freedom,  he  was  found  in  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party  battling 
for  freedom.  The  Republican  in  the  South  has  always  found  in  him  an  advocate, 
and  to-day  the  civil  rights,  the  political  rights  of  the  Republican  in  the  South  is 
a  sacred  trust  to  John  Sherman.  To  be  brief,  in  the  language  of  that  martyred 
President  who.  four  years  ago  presented  his  name  to  the  Republican  Convention 
in  this  hall,  I  present  his  name  to  you  for  your  careful  consideration  and  for 
your  indorsement.  [Applause.] 

The  Secretary  then  called  the  States  of  Oregon,  Pennsyl 
vania,  Rhode  Island,  South  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Texas,  and 
then  Vermont. 

The  Chairman — Ex-Governor  Long,  of  Massachusetts. 

Mr.  President  and  Fellow-Delegates — We  are  here  to  discharge  a  trust.  Let 
us  remember  that  we  are  to  account  for  it  hereafter.  I  appeal  to  the  unimpas- 
sioned  judgment  of  this  Convention.  I  appeal  from  the  excitement  of  this  vast 
concourse  to  the  afterthought  of  the  firesides  of  the  people,  and  remembering 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 


299 


that  an  American  audience  never  fails  in  fair  play,  I  appeal  even  at  this  late  hour 
for  an  opportunity  for  brave  little  Vermont.     [Cheers.] 

Their  only  need,  that  in  its  candidate  in  the  simple  elements  of  his  personal 
and  public  character  it  furnish  a  guarantee  of  its  continued  fidelity  to  itself;  their 
only  need,  that  it  respond  to  the  instinct  of  the  people.  That  done,  and  its  tri 
umph  in  the  coming  Presidential  election  is  as  sure  as  the  coming  of  the  election 
day.  [Applause.]  But,  gentlemen,  that  instinct  must  be  obeyed.  It  represents 
a  demand  which  is  as  inexorable  as  fate  itself.  It  recognizes  the  merits  and  the 
services  of  all  the  candidates  before  us.  It  obtrudes  no  word  of  depreciation  for 
any  of  them.  It  caves  little  for  issues  of  expediency  or  preferences  of  personal 
or  party  liking,  but  by  that  awful  voice  of  the  people,  which  is  as  the  voice  of 
God,  it  sets  an  imperative  standard  for  its  choice  and  bids  us  rise  to  that  or  fall. 
[Applause.]  We  are  convened,  therefore,  in  behalf  of  no  man.  The  country 
and  the  party  are  greater  than  the  pleasures  or  the  interests  of  any  one  man,  how 
ever  dear  or  honored  to  us.  [Applause.]  We  are  here  as  Republicans;  and  yet 
brave  and  broad  enough  not  to  be  here  in  the  interests  of  the  Republican  party 
alone.  Even  in  this  tumultuous  excitement  we  do  feel  that  charged  with  the 
most  sacred  responsibilities  that  can  fall  upon  the  representatives  of  the  people, 
we  are  here  in  the  interests  of  the  people  and  all  the  people  of  the  country,  and 
the  whole  country.  We  are  here  to  select  for  President  a  man  from  our  own 
ranks,  but  a  man  whose  record  and  character,  whose  tested  service,  whose  tried 
incorruptibility,  who  is  unscratched  through  the  storms  and  fires  of  public  life, 
whose  approved  wisdom  is  equal  to  every  emergency,  whose  recognized  capacity 
to  put  a  firm  and  safe  hand  on  the  helm,  and  whose  hold  upon  the  public  confi 
dence  of  the  people  make  him  not  a  choice  for  them,  but  their  choice  for  them 
selves.  He  must  be  one  who  will  command  their  undivided  support.  Not 
merely  brilliant  qualities  on  the  one  hand,  for  meritorious  qualities  on  the  other 
are  enough.  He  must  have  all  the  staying  qualities  of  the  sturdiest  American 
character.  He  must  represent  no  wing  or-faction  of  the  party,  but  the  whole  of 
it.  [Applause.]  He  must  be  one  who  will  hold  every  Republican  to  his  alle 
giance;  who  will  rally  indifferent  and  independent  voters  even  into  wise,  con 
vinced  and  earnest  front  for  our  line ;  one  who  will  stand  for  every  beat  that  ever 
throbbed  in  the  national  heart  for  humanity,  freedom,  conscience  and  reform ; 
'one  who  will  stand  for  whatever  has  been  honest  and  of  good  report  in  our  na 
tional  history ;  for  whatever  has  been  done  for  economy,  financial  wisdom,  clean 
politics  and  the  integrity  of  the  national  life — [applause] — and  above  all  he  must 
be  one  whose  name  will  carry  in  the  coming  canvass  that  sense  of  security  to 
which  at  each  Presidential  election  the  country  turns  as  to  a  very  rock  of  salva 
tion.  [Applause.]  • 

Such  a  man,  honest  and  capable,  will  first  master  the  sober  judgment  and  ap 
proval  of  the  people.  Thenceforward  he  will  stir  them  to  the  only  enthusiasm, 
my  friends,  that  counts,  and  that  is  the  enthusiasm  of  public  confidence — [ap 
plause] — and  then  on  election  day,  conscious  where  their  safety  lies,  the  irresist 
ible  uprising  of  the  people,  like  the  mighty  unrolling  of  an  ocean  tide,  will  sweep 
him,  never  fear,  into  the  highest  seat  of  your  public  service.  [Applause.]  That 
is  a  measure  not  of  the  party  but  of  the  country.  Meet  it  and  you  have  done 
your  work  and  won  your  victory  in  advance.  Respond  here  and  now  to  this 
instinct  of  the  people  and  they  will  take  care  of  the  result.  The  measure  is  high, 
but  the  candidate  I  name  rises  to  it.  If  there  be  an  ideal  American  citizen  in 
the  best  sense  it  is  he.  The  people  know  that  his  character,  his  abilities,  his 


3OO  SELECTING  A  PRESIDENT. 

worth,  and  his  courage  are  as  recognized  and  familiar  as  a  household  word. 
[Applause.]  His  fame  needs  not  the  kindly  "  nothing  but  good"  with  which 
death  obscures  the  faults  and  exaggerates  the  virtues  of  public  men.  Calumny 
dare  not  assail  him — [applause] — and  if  it  dare,  recoils  from  him  as  from  a  gal 
vanic  shock.  Against  no  other  candidate  can  less  be  said  than  against  him. 

But  it  is  not  I,  it  is  not  the  State,  nor  the  delegates  whom  I  here  represent  who 
present  that  name  to  you.  It  is  presented  by  the  uncounted  numbers  of  our  fel 
low-citizens,  good  men  and  true,  all  over  this  land,  who  only  await  his  nomina 
tion  to  spring  to  the  swift  and  hearty  M'ork  of  this  election.  [Applause.]  It  is 
presented  by  an  intelligent  press  from  Maine  to  California,  representing  a  healthy 
public  sentiment  and  an  advanced  public  demand.  It  is  in  the  name  of  one 
whose  letter  of  acceptance  of  an  unsolicited  honor  will  constitute  all  the  machin 
ery  he  will  have  put  into  its  procurement.  [Applause.]  It  is  a  name  which  in 
itself  is  a  guarantee  of  inflexible  honesty  in  government,  of  the  best  and  wisest 
cabinet  the  country  can  afford,  and  no  man  in  it  greater  than  its  head.  It  is  a 
guarantee  of  appointments  to  office  fit,  clean  and  disinterested  all  the  way  through, 
a  guarantee  of  an  administration  which  I  believe,  and  which  in  your  hearts  you 
know,  will  realize  not  only  at  home  but  abroad  the  very  highest  conceptions  of 
American  statesmanship.  It  is  a  name,  too,  which  will  carry  over  the  land  a 
grateful  feeling  of  serenity  and  security.  It  will  be  as  wholesome  and  refreshing 
as  the  green  mountains  of  his  native  State;  their  summits  tower  not  higher  than 
his  worth ;  their  foundations  are  not  firmer  than  his  convictions  and  truth.  The 
green  and  prolific  slopes  that  grow  great  harvests  are  not  richer  than  the  fruitage 
of  his  long  and  lofty  labors  in  the  service  of  his  country.  [Applause  and  cries 
of  "  Bravo  !  "  bravo  !  "]  He  is  a  man  of  no  clans  and  no  pretense,  but  a  man 
of  the  people  east,  west,  north  and  south,  because  the  representative  of  their 
homeliest,  plainest  and  best  characteristics. 

Massachusetts,  leaping  her  own  borders,  nominates  him  to  this  great  Repub 
lican  Convention  as  the  man  it  seeks,  as  the  man  of  its  instinctive  and  honest 
choice,  as  the  one  man  whom  its  constituents  everywhere  will  hail  with  one  un 
broken  shout,  not  only  of  satisfaction,  but  of  relief. 

Gentlemen,  I  nominate  as  the  Republican  candidate  for  next  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  Hon.  George  F.  Edmunds,  of  Vermont.  [Great  cheers  and 
applause.] 

George  William  Curtis,  of  New  York,  here  seconded  the 
nomination  with  the  following  speech : 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention — I  shall  not  repeat  to  you 
the  splendid  story  of  the  Republican  party — a  story  that  we  never  tire  of  telling, 
and  that  our  children  will  never  tire  of  hearing ;  a  story  which  is  written  upon 
the  heart  of  every  American  citizen,  because  it  recounts  greater  services  for 
liberty,  for  the  country,  and  for  mankind  than  those  of  any  party,  in  any  other 
nation,  at  any  other  period  of  time.  [Applause.]  And  what  is  the  secret  of 
this  unparalleled  history  ?  It  is  simply  that  the  Republican  party  has  been  always 
the  party  of  the  best  instincts,  of  the  highest  desires  of  the  American  people. 
This  is  its  special  glory.  It  has  represented  the  American  instinct  of  nationality, 
American  patriotism,  and  American  devotion  to  labor. 

Now,  fellow-citizens,  we  approach  a  new  test,  and  we  shall  be  tried  by  the 
•  •undulate  whom  we  submit  to  the  people. 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 


301 


The  American  people  move  in  their  progress  from  the  ocean-bound  coast 
across  the  continent  to  the  boundless  and  heaven-arched  prairie,  and  upon  us 
the  eyes  of  that  country  are  fixed  at  this  moment.  I  say  we  shall  be  tried  by  the 
candidate  that  we  present.  Do  not  forget  that  upon  the  man  of  our  choice  the 
eyes  of  the  country  will  turn  to  see  who  it  is  that  the  Republican  party  honors 
and  respects.  It  will  turn  to  see  what  are  the  objects,  what  is  the  spirit,  what 
shall  be  the  method  of  the  continued  Republican  administration. 

And  therefore  our  candidate  must  be  in  himself  a  resplendent  manifesto  of 
Republican  principle,  Republican  character,  and  Republican  purpose — a  candi 
date  who  is  in  himself  a  triumphant  victory.  [Applause.]  We,  gentlemen, 
have  been  long  in  power,  and  prolonged  power  breeds — as  we  have  learned  to 
our  cost  in  the  State  of  New  York,  as  you  have  learned,  therefore,  to  your  cost — 
prolonged  power  breeds  dissension  within  the  party.  The  times  are  hard,  and 
every  man  who  feels  poor  at  once  blames  the  administration  of  the  government. 
The  old  issues  are  largely  settled  and  new  men  with  new  views  are  arising  around 
us,  and  vast  questions  to  which  no  man  can  be  blind  solicit  our  present  attention 
and  sympathy.  This  is  the  state  of  the  country,  this  is  the  state  of  the  party, 
and  we  are  confronted  with  the  Democratic  party — very  hungry,  and,  as  you 
may  well  believe,  very  thirsty — a  party  without  a  single  definite  principle,  a  party 
without  any  distinct  National  policy  which  it  dares  to  present  to  the  country, 
a  party  which  fell  from  power  as  a  conspiracy  against  human  rights,  and  now 
attempts  to  sneak  back  to  power  as  a  conspiracy  for  plunder  and  spoils. 

Nevertheless,  fellow-Republicans,  we  have  learned,  and  many  of  you,  whom 
all  our  hearts  salute,  have  learned  upon  a  field  more  peaceful  than  this,  that  our 
foe  is  not  a  foe  to  be  despised.  He  will  feel  our  line  to  find  our  weakest  point ; 
he  will  search  the  work  of  this  Convention  with  an  electric  light ;  he  will  try  us 
by  our  candidate,  and  therefore  the  man  to  whom  we  commit  the  banner  that 
Abraham  Lincoln  bore  must  be,  like  Abraham  Lincoln,  a  knight  indeed;  and, 
like  the  old  knight,  a  knight  without  fear  and  without  reproach.  He  must  be  a 
statesman,  identified  with  every  measure  of  the  great  Republican  past,  and  a  pioneer 
in  every  measure  of  its  future  reform,  and  in  himself  the  pledge  that  the  party 
will  not  only  put  its  face  forward,  but  set  its  foot  forward,  and  a  pledge  also  that 
that  foot  will  trample  and  crush,  will  utterly  destroy  whatever  disgraces  the  public 
service,  whatever  defiles  the  Republican  name,  whatever  defeats  the  just  expec 
tations  of  the  country — of  the  Republican  party.  He  must  be  also — and  I  do 
but  echo  the  words  of  the  distinguished  orator  who  preceded  me — he  must  be 
also  an  unswerving  Republican,  a  man,  a  statesman,  not  strong  in  an  unrecorded 
obscurity,  but  working  for  many  a  year ;  conspicuous,  commanding,  upon  the 
heights  of  eminent  place ;  in  the  full  sunlight  of  an  unquestionable  purity,  of 
personal  and  of  public  conduct ;  a  statesman,  as  all  our  hearts  assure  us;  the  most 
eminent,  the  one  pre-eminent  Republican  about  whom  Republicans  have  never 
differed,  and  for  whom  every  Republican,  every  Democrat,  every  independent 
voter,  every  American  citizen,  who  under  any  circumstances  whatever  would 
support  the  Republican  ticket,  would  gladly  vote. 

This  is  the  man,  fellow-Republicans,  whom  the  situation  of  the  country, 
whom  the  condition  of  the  party,  whom  our  knowledge  of  the  combat  upon 
which  we  enter — this  is  the  man,  the  fitting  man,  in  my  judgment,  the  most 
fitting  man — indicates  to  be  our  leader. 

Mr.  President,  in  the  beginning  of  the  rebellion  a  Green  Mountain  boy  crossed 
Lake  Charnplain,  and,  followed  by  his  brave  comrades,  climbed  a  sheer  preci- 


3O2  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

pice  and  in  the  name  of  the  Great  Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress  de 
manded  and  received  the  surrender  of  British  Ticonderoga.     [Cheers.] 

There  is  another  Green  Mountain  boy;  let  us  make  him  our  captain  in  the 
great  contest  upon  which  we  enter;  make  him  our  captain  of  the  host,  the  vast 
host  of  loyal  followers — and,  indeed,  followers  we  shall  be  of  any  man  who 
bears  the  banner  of  the  Republican  party,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Great  Jehovah 
and  of  the  Republican  party  he  will  demand  and  receive  the  surrender  of  the 
Democratic  party.  [Cheers  and  applause.]  His  name  is  in  your  hearts  befjre 
it  leaves  my  lips;  incorruptible,  unassailable;  a  Republican  whom  every  Repub 
lican  trusts  to  the  utmost ;  whom  every  Democrat  respects  with  all  his  heart ;  a 
candidate  who  will  make  every  Republican  State  surer,  every  Democratic  State 
uneasy,  every  doubtful  State  Republican — [Cheers] — and  who  will  awaken  all 
the  old  conquering  Republican  enthusiasm  of  principle  and  character.  This  is 
the  candidate  whose  name  has  been  presented  to  us  by  the  old  Bay  State,  and 
the  candidate  whose  nomination,  on  behalf  of  every  American  citizen  who  be 
lieves  that  political  honesty  is  the  best  political  policy,  I  proudly  second,  in  call 
ing  the  name  of  George  F.  Edmunds,  of  Vermont.  [Long  continued  cheers.] 

Mr.  Foraker,  of  Ohio,  then  moved  that  the  Convention 
proceed  to  ballot. 

Mr.  Stewart  said  if  the  purpose  of  the  motion  was  to  econ 
omize  the  time  of  the  Convention  he  moved  to  amend  the  mo 
tion  to  the  effect  that  the  Convention  proceed  to  take  five 
ballots  before  adjournment.  [Loud  cheers  and  laughter.] 

Mr.  Thurston,  of  Nebraska,  said  he  was  so  overwhelmed 
with  the  tide  of  eloquence  that  he  wanted  a  little  time  for 
quiet,  deliberate,  honest,  conscientious  reflection  before  voting. 
He  then  demanded  that  the  roll  of  States  be  called,  which 
was  done,  the  motion  to  adjourn  being  lost  again  by  410  nays 
and  391  yeas.  Stewart,  of  Pennsylvania,  moved  adjournment 
until  1 1  o'clock,  upon  which  some  member  called  for  the  roll. 

While  this  was  being  discussed,  the  anti-Blaine  men  dis 
covered  that  the  Blaine  men  had  means  to  keep  the  Conven 
tion  up  all  night,  and  they  consented  to  the  adjournment 
until  1 1  A.  M. 

The  speech  of  Judge  West  placing  Mr.  Blaine  in  nomina 
tion,  while  an  eloquent  effort,  cannot  for  a  moment  be  com 
pared  with  that  of  Mr.  Robert  Ingersoll  in  Cincinnati,  in  1876, 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT,  303 

nominating  Mr.  Blaine.  So  much  is  this  speech  a  model  of  a 
nominating  speech  that  I  reproduce  it  here,  and  also  with  the 
view  of  answering  the  oft-repeated  question :  Why  is  Mr. 
Blaine  called  the  Plumed  Knight  ?  Mr.  Ingersoll  said  : 

Massachusetts  may  be  satisfied  with  the  loyalty  of  Benjamin  H.  Bristow;  so 
am  I.  But  if  any  man  nominated  by  this  Convention  cannot  carry  the  State  of 
Massachusetts,  I  am  not  satisfied  with  the  loyalty  of  that  State.  If  the  nominee 
of  this  Convention  cannot  carry  the  grand  old  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts 
by  75,000  majority  I  would  advise  them  to  sell  out  Faneuil  Hall  as  a  Demo 
cratic  headquarters.  I  would  advise  them  to  take  from  Bunker  Hill  that  old 
monument  of  glory.  The  Republicans  of  the  United  States  demand  as  their 
leader,  in  the  great  contest  of  1876,  a  man  of  intellect,  a  man  of  integrity,  a  man 
of  well-known  and  approved  political  opinion. 

They  demand  a  statesman.  They  demand  a  reformer  after  as  well  as  before 
the  election.  They  demand  a  politician  in  the  highest  and  broadest  and  best 
sense  of  the  word.  They  demand  a  man  acquainted  with  public  affairs,  with  the 
wants  of  the  people,  with  not  only  the  requirements  of  the  hour,  but  with  the  de 
mands  of  the  future.  They  demand  a  man  broad  enough  to  comprehend  the  re 
lations  of  this  government  to  the  other  nations  of  the  earth.  They  demand  a 
man  well  versed  in  the  powers,  duties  and  prerogatives  of  each  and  every  de 
partment  of  this  government.  They  demand  a  man  who  will  sacredly  preserve 
the  financial  honor  of  the  United  States.  One  who  knows  enough  to  know  that 
the  national  debt  must  be  paid  through  the  prosperity  of  this  people ;  one  who 
knows  enough  to  know  that  all  the  financial  theories  in  the  world  cannot  redeem 
a  single  dollar ;  one  who  knows  enough  to  know  that  all  the  money  must  be 
made  not  by  law,  but  by  labor;  one  who  knows  enough  to  know  that  the  people 
of  the  United  States  have  the  industry  to  make  the  money  and  the  honor  to  pay 
it  over  just  as  fast  as  they  make  it.  The  Republicans  of  the  United  States  de 
mand  a  man  who  knows  that  prosperity  and  resumption,  when  they  can  come, 
must  come  together.  When  they  come  they  will  come  hand  in  hand  through  the 
golden  harvest  fields;  hand  in  hand  by  the  whirling  spindles  and  the  turning 
wheels ;  hand  in  hand  past  the  open  furnace  doors ;  hand  in  hand  by  the  flaming 
forges ;  hand  in  hand  by  the  chimneys  filled  with  eager  fires. 

This  money  has  got  to  be  dug  out  of  the  earth.  You  cannot  make  it  by  pass 
ing  resolutions  in  a  political  meeting.  The  Republicans  of  the  United  States 
want  a  man  who  knows  that  his  government  should  protect  every  citizen  at  home 
and  abroad ;  who  knows  that  any  government  that  will  not  defend  its  defenders 
and  will  not  protect  its  protectors  is  a  disgrace  to  the  map  of  the  world.  They 
demand  a  man  who  believes  in  the  eternal  separation  and  divorcement  of  church 
and  schools.  They  demand  a  man  whose  political  reputation  is  spotless  as  a 
star,  but  they  do  not  demand  that  their  candidate  shall  have  a  certificate  of  moral 
character  signed  by  a  Confederate  Congress.  The  man  who  has  in  full  habit  and 
unbounded  measure  all  these  splendid  qualifications  is  the  present  grand  and 
gallant  leader  of  the  Republican  party,  James  G.  Blaine. 

Our  country,  crowned  with  the  vast  and  marvelous  achievements  of  its  first 
century,  asks  for  a  man  worthy  of  the  past  and  prophetic  of  her  future ;  asks  for 
a  man  who  has  the  audacity  of  genius;  asks  for  a  man  who  is  the  grandest  com- 


304  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

bination  of  heart,  conscience  and  brain  beneath  the  flag.  That  man  is  James  C 
Elaine.  For  the  Republican  host  led  by  this  intrepid  man  there  can  be  no  sue] 
thing  as  defeat.  This  is  a  grand  year — a  year  filled  with  the  recollection  of  th 
Revolution  ;  filled  with  proud  and  tender  memories  of  the  sacred  past ;  filled  wit 
the  legends  of  liberty — a  year  in  which  the  sons  of  freedom  will  drink  from  th 
fountain  of  enthusiasm ;  a  year  in  which  the  people  call  for  the  man  who  ha 
preserved  in  Congress  what  our  soldiers  won  upon  the  field ;  a  year  in  which  w 
call  for  the  man  who  has  torn  from  the  throat  of  treason  the  tongue  of  slander ; 
man  that  has  snatched  the  mask  of  Democracy  from  the  hideous  face  of  rebellion 
a  man  who,  like  an  intellectual  athlete,  stood  in  the  arena  of  debate,  challenge< 
all  comers,  and  who,  up  to  the  present  moment,  is  a  total  stranger  to  defeal 
Like  an  armed  warrior,  like  a  plumed  knight,  James  G.  Elaine  marched  dowi 
the  halls  of  the  American  Congress  and  threw  his  shining  lance  full  and  fai 
against  the  brazen  forehead  of  every  defamer  of  this  country  and  maligner  of  it 
honor.  For  the  Republican  party  to  desert  that  gallant  man  now  is  as  thougl 
an  army  should  desert  their  general  upon  the  field  of  battle.  James  G.  Elaine  i 
now  and  has  been  for  years  the  bearer  of  the  sacred  standard  of  the  Republic 
I  call  it  sacred,  because  no  human  being  can  stand  beneath  its  folds  without  be 
coming  and  without  remaining  free. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  in  the  name  of  the  great  Republic,  the  onl 
Republic  that  ever  existed  upon  this  earth  ;  in  the  name  of  all  her  defenders  an< 
of  all  her  supporters ;  in  the  name  of  all  her  soldiers  living ;  in  the  name  of  al 
her  soldiers  that  died  upon  the  field  of  battle,  and  in  the  name  of  those  tha 
perished  in  the  skeleton  clutches  of  famine  at  Andersonville  and  Libby,  whos 
suffering  he  so  eloquently  remembers,  Illinois  nominates  for  the  next  Presiden 
of  this  country,  that  prince  of  parliamentarians,  that  leader  of  leaders,  James  G 
Elaine. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

THE  FOURTH  DAY  AND  THE  END — BEGINNING  TO  BALLOT — THE  ATTEMPT 
TO  STAY  THE  TORRENT — BLAINE  THE  WINNER — A  NlGHT  SESSION  AND 
LOGAN. 

AFTER  many  years  of  patient  waiting,  nerved  by  eager 
longing,  the  ripened  fruit  of  preference  has  been  at  last 
yielded  into  the  hands  of  James  G.  Elaine.     The  populace, 
clamoring  in  the  amphitheatres  of  old  Rome,  proclaimed  the 
riumph  of  the  fierce  arena  with  a  wild,  tumultuous  shout  of 
'  Habet !  "     Out  of  a  contest  as  desperately  vital  without  its 
bloody  peril  pitched  in  party  battles  of  a  dozen  years,  the 
white  plumed  knight,  whose  sword  and  lance  have  oft  been 
Broken  in  defeat,  stands  proudly  now  to  hear  the  modern  cry 
of  "  habet."     In  very  truth  he  has  it.     It  is  the  common  rule 
of  life  to  give  the  greater  honor  to  the  newest  comer.     The 
spirit  that  in  elder  times  presumed  the  king  could  never  die, 
and  hailed  him  living  while  it  still  declared  him  dead,  abides, 
n  but  a  varied  fashion  with  us  now,  and  they  who  looked  to 
ee  another  rising  chief  turn  from  defeat  to  touch  the  blade 
>f  victory.  , 

At  the  close  of  the  third  ballot  the  result  was  no  longer  in 
question.  Then  ensued  an  uproar.  An  attempt  was  made  to 
tern  the  torrent.  Delay,  however,  was  now  a  useless  ex- 
>edient.  The  indulgence  was  more  the  unwillingness  to  bow 
o  the  inevitable,  than  the  result  of  a  hope  that  any  combina- 

(305) 


306  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

tion  could  now  be  effected  to  turn  back  the  surging  tidi 
Such  an  effort  was  made,  nevertheless.  The  forlorn  hope  w? 
pursued  to  its  extremity,  and  while  a  babel  of  sounds  held  tb 
business  of  the  hour  in  abeyance,  there  was  a  hurrying  hith< 
and  thither  of  party  leaders,  a  fitful  holding  of  conference 
earnest  and  angry  consultations,  the  Convention  yielding  i 
self  to  the  element  of  paroxysm  flung  down  from  the  gallerie 
These  conferences  were  sometimes  hotly  urged,  and  in  or 
instance  there  was  imminent  danger  of  a  disgraceful  person; 
encounter  between  members  of  two  extreme  delegation 
There  is  but  one  word  to  convey  an  idea  of  a  scene  so  tho 
oughly  indescribable — it  was  a  pandemonium,  wherein  raptui 
and  dismayed  excitement  were  the  spirits  of  fierce  contentio 
By  the  greatest  exertion  of  muscular  power  in  pounding  h 
desk,  and  through  the  energetic  services  of  the  sergeants-a 
arms,  the  Convention  was  finally  reduced  nearly  enoug 
toward  a  state  of  calm  to  permit  the  taking  of  the  fourth  an 
final  ballot.  It  was  slowly  conducted,  with  all  the  retardir 
possible  to  diplomatic  device,  but  it  progressed  with  such 
steady  drain  of  vital  elements  to  the  Blaine  interest  that  tl 
impetuous,  overwrought  audience  could  not  restrain  the  vi< 
lent  working  of  enthusiasm,  or  repress  the  inclination  to  sei; 
the  full-fledged  opportunity  for  noise,  and  when  Illinois  loose 
the  flood-gates  with  a  gift  of  thirty-four  votes  to  Blain 
rapidly  followed  by  thirty  from  Indiana,  the  bridles  of  reasc 
were  snapped  and  the  mad  career  of  violence  began.  Ii 
sanity  could  not  make  more  monstrous  demonstration  th? 
marked  the  rush  from  that  time  to  the  overwhelming  tumu 
that  recorded  the  nomination  against  the  battlements  of  spac 
The  lofty  tops  of  the  hoary  pines  that  ward  the  Atlantic 
passion  from  the  peaceful  breast  of  Maine  never  tossed  moi 
fiercely  in  the  tempest  shock  than  did  the  moving  particles  c 


SELECTING  A  PRESIDENT.  307 

his  great  hall  before  the  violent  sweep  of  wild  emotion 
iroused  by  the  success  of  the  favorite  son  of  Maine,  now  made 
he  people's  choice.  Factions  ceased  to  be  with  the  triumph 
f  the  vote.  The  Convention  had  warned  its  chief,  and  out 
f  the  discord  came  the  white  spirit  of  amity,  touching  the 
ninds  of  difference,  brushing  away  the  interest  of  prejudice, 
ind  with  the  great  opposition  leader  asking  that  his  friends 
•ally  to  the  standard  of  the  greater  choice,  contention  forgot 
ts  voice,  and  harmony  was  reverenced  again.  The  party 
ight  is  ended,  and  principles  awake  again.  Men  give  way  to 
jnds ;  the  Convention  makes  way  for  the  nation.  Le  roi  est 
nor  1;  vive  le  roi. 

The  Convention  was  called  to  order  at  11.19  by  Chairman 
(Henderson,  who  said :  "  The  Convention  this  morning  will  be 
!  ppened  with  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Martyn  Scudder,  of 
phicago." 

Mr.  Scudder,  pastor  of  Plymouth  Church,  Chicago,  offered 
:he  following  prayer : 

Almighty  and  ever  blessed  God,  we  worship  Thee  as  the  author  of  our  being, 
is  the  creator  of  our  mortal  bodies  and  of  our  immortal  spirits,  and  we  adore 
Thee  as  the  inexhaustible  personal  source  of  all  light  and  love  and  truth  and 
iberty  and  peace  and  gladness,  and  we  do  glorify  Thee  as  the  supreme  law 
giver  and  as  the  only  rightful  sovereign  of  all  hearts  and  all  consciences,  and  we 
:lo  thank  Thee  with  reverence  and  gratitude  for  the  benignant  providence  which 
:rom  the  very  beginning  has  watched  over  our  beloved  country.  We  thank  Thee 
ror  its  manifold  deliverances  in  times  of  national  peril,  for  its  grand  victory  over 
slavery,  for  its  symmetric  development  under  Thy  protecting  care  and  for  its 
present  advancement  among  the  nations  of  the  earth ;  and  we  do  also  bless  Thee 
for  our  just  laws  and  liberal  institutions,  for  our  civil  and  religious  liberty,  for  our 
fertile  lands  and  abundant  resources,  for  our  great  cities  and  our  happy  homes. 
We  bless  Thee,  Lord  God  of  Truth  and  Grace,  for  the  great  faith  and  for  our 
Christian  churches  and  for  our  educational  privileges,  and  for  the  privileges  that 
Thou  dost  continually  grant  to  our  people,  for  their  growth  in  the  knowledge, 
virtue  and  power  that  constitute  genuine  national  humanity,  and  we  ask  Thee  to 
pronounce  Thy  benediction  upon  this  Convention,  and  grant  it  to-day  Thy  inval- 
aable  support,  and  that  what  is  done  here  may  be  done  in  righteousness  and  truth 
ind  in  the  spirit  of  patriotism,  and  may  every  man  in  this  Convention  be  en- 
iowed  with  the  true  inspiration  of  loyalty  and  truth  and  fidelity  to  the  highest 
interests  of  our  great  republic.  And  now,  finally,  Great  and  Holy  God,  we  pray 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT; 

Thee  that  this  Convention  may  be  led  with  unanimity  to  select  for  nomination  t 
the  Presidency  of  these  United /States  the  right  man,  and  when  he  is  selected  b 
this  Convention  may  he  thereafter  be  elected  by  the  American  people  to  th 
Chief  Magistracy  of  this  country,  and  after  he  is  elected,  if  that  be  Thy  will,  ma 
his  life  be  precious  in  Thy  sight,  and  may  he  be  so  endowed  with  every  gift  ths 
he  may  give  the  country  an  administration  that  shall  be  an  honor  to  this  Cor 
vention,  to  the  Republican  party  and  to  the  whole  American  people,  and  a  lesso 
to  mankind,  an  administration  which  shall  be  acceptable  in  Thy  sight,  oh,  Lor 
of  Hosts,  Thou  who  art  the  Lord  God,  and  we  ask  it  in  the  name  of  our  Lor 
and  Redeemer,  Jesus  Christ.  Amen. 

The  Chair — "  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  the  Secretar 
will  call  the  roll  of  the  States  and  Territories  that  have  nc 
yet  given  in  the  names  of  the  members  of  the  National  Com 
mittee  and  which  were  passed  yesterday." 

A  delegate  from  California — "  I  desire  to  offer  a  resolutio 
without  comment." 

Mr.   Davis,  of  Illinois — "  I  demand  the  regular  order, 
object  to  this  resolution." 

The  Secretary  then  proceeded  to  call  the  roll  of  States  fc 
National  Committee  men  as  follows : 

California,  Horace  Davis;  Colorado,  passed  for  the  present 
Florida,  passed;  New  Hampshire,  Edwin  H.  Fallett;  Ter 
nessee,  W.  D.  Brownlow;  District  of  Columbia,  no  choic 
yet;  New  Mexico,  Col.  Wm.  H.  Ryners. 

A  delegate  from  California — "  I  desire  to  withdraw  the  res 
olution  which  I  had  in  mind.  I  do  so  at  the  request  of  th 
members  of  my  delegation." 

The  Chair — "  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  there  is  noi 
nothing  in  order  except  to  call  the  roll  for  the  nomination  o 
a  candidate  for  the  Presidency." 

Turner,  of  Alabama — "  Mr.  President,  is  that  call  of  th 
roll  for  balloting  ?  " 

The  Chair — "  For  balloting — the  nomination  of  a  candidate. 

The  Secretary  then  proceeded  to  call  the  roll  of  States  fo 
the  nomination  of  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  the  firs 
ballot  resulting  as  follows  : 


SELECTING  A  PRESIDENT.          309 

THE   FIRST   BALLOT. 


States  and 

Ed-                     J.  Sher-      Haw- 

Lin-     W.  T. 

Territories. 

Blaine. 

Arthur. 

mimds.  Logan,      man.           ley. 

coin.  Sherman 

Alabama  

I 

17 

...             I 

Arkansas  

8 

4 

2 

• 

California  

16 

Colorado  

6 

Connecticut  

12 

Delaware  

5 

i 

'    Florida  

7 

Georgia  

24 

Illinois  

3 

40 

' 

Indiana  

1  8 

9 

I           .  .                 2 

Iowa  ;  .  .  . 

26 

Kansas  

12 

4 

I                                  I 

S/4 

16 

2'/2           I 

I 

Louisiana  

2 

IO 

Maine  

12 

'    Maryland  

IO 

6 

.  . 

Massachusetts  

I 

2 

25           

Michigan  

15 

2 

7        

. 

!    Minnesota  

7 

I 

6        

•  . 

!    Mississippi  

i 

17 

Missouri  

5 

10 

6        10           i 

.. 

Nebraska  

8 

2 

)   Nevada  

6 

:   New  Hampshire  
New  Jersey  

9 

4 

4        
6                      i 

2              2 

New  York  

28 

31 

12 

I 

North  Carolina  .... 

2 

19 

I 

•  .             . 

Ohio  

2 

25 

.  . 

Oregon 

6 

Pennsylvania  

47 

II 

I              I 

.. 

Rhode  Island  

8        

South  Carolina. 

j 

17 

Tennessee  

7 

16 

i 

Texas  

ii 

2 

. 

Vermont  

8        ' 

.                .  . 

1    Virginia  

2 

21 

i 

•  .             .  . 

1   West  Virginia  

12 

Wisconsin  

10 

6 

6        

Arizona  .... 

2 

Dakota  

2 

Idaho  

2 

Montana  

I 

I 

New  Mexico 

2 

Utah  

2 

Washington  

2 

Wyoming  

2 

.  . 

Dist.  of  Columbia.  . 

I 

1 

Totals  

334^ 

278 

"93      ~6^2    ^30        ~7J 

~4        ~~2 

3IO  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

During  the  roll-call  there  were  numerous  calls  for  a  poll  of 
the  delegates,  which  necessitated  the  calling  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  names  of  the  individual  delegates  in  the  States  from 
which  these  calls  proceeded.  This  caused  great  delay  in  bal 
loting.  After  the  announcement  of  the  vote  by  the  Secretary 
the  Chair  said : 

"A  ballot  for  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  having  beer 
had  without  securing  a  nomination,  according  to  the  rules  the 
Convention  will  now  proceed  to  another  vote.  The  Secretary 
will  call  the  roll." 

The  Secretary  called  the  roll  of  States  for  the  second  ballot 
which  resulted  as  follows  : 

THE    SECOND    BALLOT. 

States  and  Ed-  Sher-      Haw-      Lin-        W.  T. 

Territories.              Arthur.  Elaine,  munds.  Logan,      man.        ley.        coin.  Sherman 

Alabama 17           2  .  .  I          .  .         .  .         .  .         .  .^ 

Arkansas 3  1 1  .  .  .  .         .  .         .  .         .  .        "••>•' 

California 16 

Colorado 6  .  .  .  .         .  .         .  .         .  .        ••:•»•  i 

Connecticut .  .  .  .  .  .         .  .          12         .  .         •  •  -. 

Delaware I            5  .  .  .  .         .  .         .  .         .  .         .  jj? 

Florida 7            I  .  .  .  .          .  •  \ 

Georgia 24 

Illinois i            3  40         

Indiana 9  18  I  ...      2         

Iowa 26 

Kansas 2  13  .  .  2         .  .           I          ....  4- j 

Kentucky 17           5  ..  2  I         ..           I 

Louisiana 9           4  2         .  .         . ".         .  . 

Maine 12 

Maryland    4  1 2 

Massachusetts 3            I  24 

Michigan 4  15  5  2 

Minnesota I            7  6 

Mississippi 17            I  .  .  .  .         

Missouri 10           7  5  8  I 

Nebraska 2           8  .  .  ^ 

Nevada 6  .  .  .  .         .  .         

New  Hampshire 5  .  .  3 

New  Jersey 9  6  ..  I          .  .           2 

New  York 31  28  12  I 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  31! 

THE  SECOND  BALLOT — Continued. 

States  and  Ed-  Sher-      Haw-       Lin-       W.  T. 

Territories.              Arthur.  Elaine,     munds.  Logan.      man.         ley.        coin.  Sherman. 

North  Carolina 18  3  .  .              I         

Ohio 23  .  .           .  .         23         

Oregon 6  .  .           

j  Pennsylvania II  47  1  I 

Rhode  Island 8           

South  Carolina 17  I  ..           

Tennessee 16  7  .  .             I         

Texas II  13  .  .             2         

Vermont .  .  8  .  .         .  .         .  .         .  .         .  . 

Virginia 21  2  ..  I         ..         ..         ..         .. 

West  Virginia 12  .  .           

Wisconsin 6  n  5           

Arizona 2  .  .           .  .         

Dakota 2  .  .           

Idaho 2  .  .  .  .           

Montana I  i           

New  Mexico 2  .  .  .  .           

Utah 2  

Washington 2  .  .           

Wyoming 2 

District  of  Columbia.  .     i  I  .  .           

Totals 276      349  85          61         28         13          42 

When  the  announcement  was  made  of  the  result  of  the  sec 
ond  ballot,  owing  to  the  gain  shown  by  the  Elaine  column, 
there  was  wild  cheering,  which  did  not  subside  for  several 
minutes.  Upon  the  partial  subsidence  of  the  noise  some  dele 
gates  shouted  for  the  regular  order. 

The  Chair — No  nomination  having  been  made,  the  Conven 
tion  will  now  proceed  to  the  third  ballot,  and  the  Secretary 
will  call  the  roll  of  States  and  Territories. 

INCIDENTS  OF  THE  BALLOT. 

While  the  roll  was  being  called  for  the  third  ballot  the 
count  in  Kentucky  and  Massachusetts  was  challenged,  but 
upon  dissatisfaction  being  expressed  each  of  the  gentlemen 
challenging  withdrew  the  challenge.  When  eighteen  votes 
19 


312  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

were  announced  for  James  G.  Blaine  from  the  State  of  Michi 
gan  there  was  tremendous  cheering.  When  the  State  oi 
Nebraska  was  reached  Mr.  Thurston  arose  and  said : 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  Nebraska,  with  her  fifty  thousand  Republi 
cans —  " 

Here  again  a  profound  hostility  appeared  to  prevail  among 
the  audience  against  further  oratory,  and  it  was  manifested  ir 
the  most  vociferous  manner.  The  Chairman  finally  succeedec 
in  getting  order,  and  Mr.  Thurston  continued : 

"  Casts  ten  votes  for  James  G.  Blaine,"  and  sat  down  amic 
tremendous  noise. 

While  the  roll  was  proceeding,  and  after  the  State  of  Ne 
vada  had  been  called,  delegates  were  seen  rushing  througt 
the  aisles  in  various  directions.  When  North  Carolina  wa< 
reached  there  was  a  great  deal  of  uproar,  and  the  Chair  said 
"  The  gentlemen  in  the  aisles  will  please  take  their  seats,  anc 
the  sergeant-at-arms  will  please  see  that  they  do  so."  Ar 
assistant  sergeant-at-arms  rushed  around  at  a  terrific  pace  in 
sisting  with  vehemence  that  the  order  applied  with  peculiai 
force  and  especially  directed  to  the  reporters.  When  the  vote 
of  Pennsylvania  was  announced  Mr.  Magee  and  Mr.  Flinn,  of 
Pennsylvania,  both  challenged  the  vote  and  insisted  on  a 
count.  While  the  roll  was  being  called  Mr.  Baker,  of  Indi 
ana,  arose  and  said : 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  I  demand  that  the  lobbyists  who  have 
taken  possession  of  these  aisles  shall  go  to  their  places  in 
stantly." 

The  Chair — The  gentlemen  will  resume  their  seats. 

Mr.  Aidy,  of  Kansas — The  New  York  delegation  belongs 
on  the  other  side  of  the  hall. 

Mr.  Butcher,  of  New  York — Yes,  the  New  York  delega 
tion  belongs  over  here. 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  313 

Mr.  Burleigh,  of  New  York — I  rise  to  a  point  of  order,  and 
that  is  that  ex-Senator  Spencer  is  among  the  delegates,  and 
he  has  no  right  to  be  there. 

Mr.  McCook,  of  New  York — I  suggest  that  there  are  gen 
tlemen  not  delegates  sitting  among  the  New  York  delegates, 
and  I  rise  to  inquire  in  reference  to  it. 

Mr.  Collins,  of  New  York — Name  the  men  and  put  them 
out. 

The  Chair — The  gentlemen  will  take  their  seats. 

After  a  season  of  great  confusion,  during  which  the  audi 
ence  materially  assisted  with  their  feet  and  their  voices  in 
swelling  the  tumult,  quiet  was  restored,  and  the  Secretary 
proceeded  with  the  call  of  the  roll.  When  the  State  of  Penn 
sylvania  was  reached  the  chairman  of  the  delegation  reported 
its  vote. 

The  vote  was  immediately  challenged,  and  a  call  of  the  roll 
of  the  State  delegation  was  ordered  by  the  Chair. 

The  following  was  the  result : 

THE    THIRD    BALLOT. 

States  and  Ed-          W.  T.      J.  Sher-  Haw-  Lin- 

Territories.  Elaine.     Arthur,     munds.     Sherman,    man.       ley.      Logan,     coin. 

Alabama 2         17  ..  ..          ..  I 

Arkansas 1 1  3 

Arizona....    2 

California 16 

Colorado 6 

Connecticut ..  ..  ..          .  .    *     12 

Delaware 5  I 

Dakota 2 

Florida I  7 

Georgia 24 

Illinois 3  I  .  .         40 

Indiana    18         10  . .  . .  2          . .          . .          . .    - 

Iowa 26 

Kansas 15          ..  ..  I  2 

Kentucky 6         16  I  21 

Louisiana 4  9  ..  2 

Maine  .  .  .12  .......... 


314  SELECTING    A     PRESIDENT. 

THE  THIRD  BALLOT — Continued. 

States  and  Ed-  W.  T.      J.  Sher-  Haw-  Lin- 
Territories.              Elaine.  Arthur,  munds.  Sherman,    man.       ley.       Logan,     coin. 

Maryland 12  4 

Massachusetts I  3  24 

Michigan 18  4  3  ..            I 

Minnesota 7  2  5 

Mississippi I  16 

Missouri 12  u  4  ..          ..          ..           4 

Nebraska 10  .  .  . .  

Nevada 6  .  .  . .  . .          . .          . .          . .          » . 

New  Hampshire 5  3 

New  Jersey n  i  ..  ..          ..          ..          ..            6 

New  York 28  32  12  

North  Carolina 4  18 

Ohio 25  ..  ..  ..          21          ..          .... 

Oregon 6  ..  ..  ..          ..          ..          ..          ..^ 

Pennsylvania 50  ..  ..           ..          ..  I 

Rhode   Island 8  j 

South  Carolina 2  16  . .  . .          . .            .          . .          %. 

Tennessee 7  17  .  ..          ..          ..          ..       • " . . 

Texas 14  u  ..  I 

Vermont .  .  8  .  .          .  .          .  .          . .          . . 

Virginia 4  20  .  .  .  .          . .          .  .          .  .          • . 

West  Virginia 12 

Wisconsin n  10  ..  I 

Idaho i  i  . .  .  .          . .          .  .          . .          . .  ;". 

Montana i  .  i 

New  Mexico 2 

Utah 2  

Washington  Territory.     2  ..  ..  ..          ..           ..           ..          .... 

Wyoming 2  .  .  .  .           . .          . .          .  .          . .'  ' 

District  of  Columbia. .     i  i  ..  ..          ..          ..          ..          .«., 

Totals 375       274  69  i         25         13         53          7 

When  the  result  of  the  third  ballot  was  announced  there 
was  another  scene  of  wild  confusion  and  cheering.  When 
opportunity  offered,  Judge  Foraker,  of  Ohio,  was  recognized 
by  the  Chair. 

Judge  Foraker — "  I  move  that  we  take  a  recess  until  half- 
past  seven  o'clock  this  evening." 

Mr.  Du tcher,  of  New  York — "  I  second  the  motion  for  a 
recess." 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDEN  315 

Mr.  Stewart,  of  Pennsylvania — "  Mr.  Chairman,  I  make  an 
amendment.  The  opposing  forces  of  this  Convention  have 
already  passed  beyond  the  skirmish  line  and  there  is  one 
phalanx —  [Here  the  speaker's  voice  was  drowned  in  the 
uproar  of  voices.] 

Mr.  Roosevelt,  of  New  York — "  Mr.  Chairman,  I  rise  to  a 
point  of  order.  The  motion  is  not  debatable  or  amendable." 

Mr.  Phelps,  of  New  Jersey — "  We  do  not  wish  to  debate  it. 
We  only  wish  to  wait  until  we  have  done  the  work  for  which 
we  are  here." 

Mr.  Stewart,  of  Pennsylvania — "  Mr.  Chairman  !  Mr.  Chair 
man  !  I  have  the  floor.  Mr.  Chairman !  You  recognized 
the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  and  I  have  the  floor." 

Mr.  Roosevelt,  of  New  York — "  The  motion  is  not  amend 
able  or  debatable." 

Mr.  Stewart — "  We  are  ready  for  the  brunt  of  battle.  Mr. 
Chairman,  let  it  come."  [Cheers  from  surrounding  delega 
tions.]  The  speaker's  voice  was  again  lost  in  the  confusion. 

The  Chair — "  The  motion  before  the  Convention  is  that  the 
Convention  now  take  a  recess  until  half-past  seven  o'clock 
this  evening.  All  those  in  favor  say  aye,"  to  which  a  few  re 
sponses  were  given.  "All  those  opposed  say  no,"  to  which  a 
deafening  response  was  given,  seemingly  from  every  part  of 
the  building,  including  the  audience  and  galleries  as  well  as 
delegates. 

The  Chair — "  The  nays  have  it." 

Judge  Foraker— "  I  demand  the  call  of  States." 

Mr.  Roosevelt — "  I  ask  for  a  call  of  the  roll — call  the  roll." 

Mr.  Russell,  of  New  York— "  What  is  the  call  of  the  roll 
on  ?  "  [Cries  from  the  Alabama  delegation  of  "  Let  us  have 
the  roll-call."] 

Mr.  Roosevelt — "  Mr.  Chairman,  I  demanded  the  roll-call 


316  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

on  the  question  of  adjournment.  We  have  a  right  to  have  it. 
Mr.  Chairman — " 

Cries  of  "  Sit  down !     Sit  down !     You  are  too  late." 

Mr.  Packard,  of  New  York — "  It  is  never  too  late." 

Mr.  Roosevelt — "  Mr.  Chairman,  I  demand  a  roll-call  on  the 
question  of  adjournment." 

A  delegate  from  North  Carolina — "  I  rise  to  a  question  of 
information  in  behalf  of  the  delegates  from  Alabama.  We  do 
not  understand  precisely  what  you  are  voting  upon  now." 

The  Chair — "  The  roll  will  be  called  on  the  ballot  for  Presi 
dent."  [Applause.] 

Mr.  Butcher,  of  New  York — "  New  York  demanded  the 
call  of  the  roll  of  the  States  on  the  question  of  adjournment 
before  the  Chair  decided  the  question." 

The  Chair—"  Was  it  seconded  by  two  States  ?  " 

Mr.  Dutcher — "  Yes,  sir ;  it  was  seconded  by  over  six 
States."  , 

The  Chair — "  The  roll  will  be  called  for  balloting  for  Presi 
dent." 

Mr.  Dutcher — "  Fair  play,  fair  play,  sir."  [Great  confusion 
and  uproar.] 

The  Chair — "  Give  the  names  of  the  States  seconding  the 
motion  and  they  will  be  recorded." 

Mr.  Dutcher — "  They  were  New  York,  Alabama  and  Ohio." 

A  delegate  from  New  York,  Mr.  Sheard — "  I  rise  to  a  point 
of  order  that  the  roll-call  having  taken  place  there  is  no  other 
business  but  a  continuation  of  the  same." 

The  Chair  inquires  of  the  gentleman  from  New  York,  Mr. 
Dutcher,  to  know  whether  New  York  called  for  the  vote  to  be 
recorded. 

Mr.  Dutcher — "  New  York  did  call  for  the  vote  to  be  re 
corded." 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 


317 


The  Chair—"  What  States  seconded  ?  " 

Mr.  Butcher — "  They  were  New  York,  Ohio,  North  Caro 
lina  [cries  of  '  No  !  No  ! '],  Alabama  and  Mississippi." 

A  delegate  from  New  York — "  I  rise  to  another  point,  that 
the  State  of  New  York  has  not  been  polled  for  the  roll-call 
and  therefore  no  gentleman  has  the  right  to  demand  it  in  her 
name." 

Mr.  Keyes — "All  right ;  now  proceed  with  the  roll." 

Mr.  Roosevelt — "  New  York,  North  Carolina  and  Missis 
sippi  have  seconded  the  motion  for  the  roll-call  of  States  on 
the  question  of  recess." 

Mr.  Carr,  of  Illinois — "  Mr.  President,  I  rise  to  a  point  of 
order,  and  that  is,  that  pending  the  roll-call  no  person  can  be 
recognized  by  the  Chair  except  the  person  from  the  State 
which  has  been  called.  Alabama  has  been  called.  I  ask  that 
no  person  be  recognized  or  permitted  to  make  a  motion  until 
Alabama  shall  have  expressed  herself  on  the  call.  Alabama 
has  the  floor  now,  and  nobody  else  can  be  recognized." 

Mr.  Spooner,  of  New  York — "  My  point  of  order  is  on  the 
motion  to  adjourn  and  that  the  call  of  the  roll  should  be  or 
dered  by  the  Chair." 

Mr.  Husted,  of  New  York — "  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order. 
My  point  of  order  is  that  the  demand  for  a  vote  by  States  was 
not  made  until  after  the  Chair  had  decided  the  motion  which 
was  lost,  a  few  moments  ago,  on  the  viva  voce  call." 

Mr.  Roosevelt — "  I  made  a  motion  for  the  call  of  the  roll 
of  States  on  the  question  of  adjournment,  but  in  the  noise  the 
Chair  could  not  hear  me."  [Great  confusion  and  uproar  here 
ensued,  in  the  midst  of  which  the  Chair  recognized  Mr.  Mc- 
Kinley,  of  Ohio.] 

Mr.  McKinley — "  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen  of  the  Con 
vention,  I  hope  no  friend  of  James  G.  Elaine  will  object  to 


318  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

having  the  roll-call  of  States  made.  [Cries  of  '  Good 
'  Good ! '  and  cheers.]  Let  us  raise  no  technical  objectioi 
[Cries  of  '  That's  right ! '  and  cheers.]  And  as  a  friend  o 
James  G.  Blaine  I  insist  that  all  his  friends  shall  unite  in  hav 
ing  the  roll  of  States  called  and  voting  against  adjournment. 
[Loud  cheers.] 

The  Chair — "  Very  well." 

Mr.  McKinley — "And  then  we  can  vote  the  propositioi 
down."  [Loud  applause.] 

Mr.  Conger,  of  the  District  of  Columbia — "  We  accep 
that,  Mr.  Chairman." 

On  the  question  of  adjournment  there  were  more  delays 
occasioned  by  the  demand  from  certain  of  the.  States  for  ; 
polling  of  the  vote.  The  result  on  the  vote  was — ayes,  364 
noes,  450.  This  announcement  produced  another  season  oi 
wild  cheering.  Mr.  Foraker,  of  Ohio,  again  rose  in  his  seal 

Mr.  Foraker,  of  Ohio — "  I  move  that  the  rules  of  this  Con 
vention  be  suspended  and  that  James  G.  Blaine  be  nominate* 
by  acclamation."  [Loud  applause  and  great  confusion.] 

Mr.  Roosevelt,  of  New  York — "  It  cannot  be  done."  [Louc 
cries  of  "  Roll-call,  roll-call,"  and  continued  confusion.] 

Mr.  Winston,  of  North  Carolina — "  I  move  that  we  procee( 
with  the  order  of  business — proceed  to  call  the  roll  fo 
another  ballot."  [Loud  cries  of  "  Call  the  roll,  call  the  roll,' 
and  great  confusion.] 

Mr.  Houck,  of  Tennessee — "  I  desire  to  inquire  how  Mr 
Cassell,  of  Tennessee,  is  recorded."  [Continued  confusioi 
and  cries  of  "  Too  late,  too  late,"  and  "  Roll-call,  roll-call."] 

Mr.  Foraker — "  My  motion  is  that  the  rules  of  this  Con 
vention  be  suspended  and  that  James  G.  Blaine  be  nominatec 
by  acclamation."  [Loud  and  long  continued  cheers  and  grea 
confusion.] 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

Mr.  Roosevelt,  of  New  York— "  I  ask  for  the  roll-call." 
[Continued  confusion.] 

Mr.  Burrows,  of  Michigan — "  I  demand  the  regular  order 
and  a  call  of  the  roll."  [Loud  cheers.] 

Mr.  Roosevelt,  of  New  York—"  On  behalf  of  New  York  I 
ask  for  a  call  of  the  roll."  [Great  confusion.] 

Mr.  Burrows,  of  Michigan — "  I  demand  a  call  of  the  roll 
and  I  move  that  we  proceed  to  ballot."  [Continued  confusion 
and  commotion  in  the  hall.] 

In  the  midst  of  the  confusion  Mr.  Foraker,  of  Ohio,  got  the 
floor.  "  In  order,"  he  said,'"  that  the  time  of  this  Convention 
may  be  saved,  at  the  request  of  gentlemen  members  I  with 
draw  the  motion  I  made."  There  were  cries  of  "  Good, 
good,"  applause  and  great  confusion  and  commotion,  in  the 
midst  of  which  the  chairman  directed  the  clerk  to  call  the 
roll  of  the  States  for  the  fourth  ballot. 

THE  OLD  GUARD  NEVER  SURRENDERS. 

During  the  fourth  ballot,  when  the  State  of  Arkansas  was 
called,  Mr.  Burrows,  of  Michigan,  arose  and  said :  "  I  rise  to 
a  question  of  order.  It  is  utterly  impossible  to  hear  a  word 
unless  order  is  restored.  Unless  that  order  is  restored  I  shall 
move  that  this  Convention  adjourn  to  a  hall  by  itself  to  finish 
these  proceedings."  [Great  applause,  confusion,  and  laughter.] 

The  vote  of  Florida  was  polled  on  the  fourth  ballot.  When 
the  name  of  Joseph  E.  Lee,  of  Florida,  was  called,  he  said : 
"  The  Old  Guard  dies,  but  never  surrenders — Chester  A. 
Arthur."  [Applause.] 

When  Georgia  was  called  the  chairman  of  the  delegation, 
Mr.  Buck,  said :  "  Before  coming  into  this  Convention  the 
delegation  from  Georgia  agreed  to  act  as  a  unit.  A  majority 
of  the  delegation  are  still  for  Chester  A.  Arthur,  and  unless  a 


:  SELECTIVE   A   PRE5IDEXT. 


vole  is  called  I  ifciB  announce  24  votes  for  Arthur.**     '1 
i*l1iIjBMT  and  cries  of  *  Good,  good.**] 

like  Chair—  "Is  there  any  contest  in  Georgia?"     [Loud 
cries  of  -  No,  no/*] 

The  Chair—  -  Georgia  then  cub  her  24  votes  for  Chester 
A.  Arthur." 


LOGAX  Ttmss  ix  FOR 

\\lien  Illinois  as  called  die  chairman  of  the  delegation, 
Mr.  S.  M  Cullom,  said:  "  I  ask  leave  of  this  Convention  to 
•  -.  "-.  :    :•.    :.  -  '  ':.  '  :         /    :  .  .  .    "...      .  .     .    :-:       .  .     ~   .  ~  :  -    -.  _"      :r  _  m 

Grarial  John  A.  Logan,  addressed  to  the  Illinois  delegation." 
[Loud  cries  of  -  Regular  order,  regular  order,*"  -\\eobject," 
-Cafl  the  roll,""  and  great  confiision.] 

Mr.  Cullcm—  ~  To  the  Republicans  [load  cries  of  "  Order, 
caH  the  roll,  regular  order""}  I  am  directed  by  Gcmnral 
Logan  to  read  it  to  this  Convention  and  shall  send  the  dis 
patch  to  the  desk  to  be  read.*9  [Loud  cries  of  *  No,  no!* 
=.  r~.  :  ^'  -  -~  ::""--  :  ~ 

Mr.  Burrows,  of  Michigan—"  I  make  the  point  of  order 
that  the  reading  of  the  dispatch  is  not  in  order  and  nothing 
tat  the  announcement  of  die  vote  is  in  order."  [Load  ap- 


The  Chair—  -The  Chair  sustains  the  point  of  order." 
[Loud  applause.] 

Mr.  Cullom—  ~  The  Illinois  AkgjJkm  then  •Uiihaps  the 

--.--.  -•  ~-_-  -     :    j  v-  --.:.--—  ^  .  -  .-,     -  -  •"  - 

Logan  7,  and  fix-  Arthur  3."    [Loud  jppliuy   and  loud 
i    -  .  *  - 

When  the  State  of  Ohio  was  called.  Judge  Foraker  arose 
and  said:  -  For  what  I  %n|i|iini»l  to  be  the  best  iatnrsls  of 
this  party.  I  ynMMiuA  the  name  of  John  Shfinun  to  this 


SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  $21 

Convention;  also  supposing  it  to  be  for  the  best  interests  of 
[the  party  we  have  until  now  favorably  and  most  cordially  sup- 
Sported  him.  'Now,  also,  in  the  interests  of  the  party  we  with 
draw  him  and  cast  for  James  G.  Elaine  46  votes."  [Tremend 
ous  outburst  of  applause.] 

The  ballot  resulted  as  follows : 

THE   FOURTH   BALLOT. 

States  and  Ed-      W.  T.    J.  Sher-  Haw-                      Lin- 
Territories.            Elaine.     Arthur.  munds.  Sherman,   man.        ley.       Logan,      coin. 

Llabama 8           12  

irkansas n             3  

California 16           .  .  .  .         .  .         

Colorado 6           .  .  

Connecticut .  .  12 

)elaware 5              I  

"lorida 3             5  

reorgia 24  

linois 34  3 .  .  6 

ndiana 30           .  .  

owa 24             2  .  .         

Kansas 18           .  .  

Kentucky 9           15  I            I 

.ouisiana 9             7  .  .         .  .         .  .         

taine 12           .  .  

laryland   15             I  

[assachusetts 3             7  18         

[ichigan 26         _.  .  .\ 

linnesota 14           .  .  

;issippi 2           16  .  .         .  .         

tissouri 32           ..  

Nebraska IO           .  .  .  .          .  .          

'evada 6           .  .  

'ew  Hampshire../.      3             2  3         .  .         

'ew  Jersey 17            ..  I          ..          

ew  York 29           30  9         ....           2         .  .            I 

rorth  Carolina 8  12  I 

hio 46           .  .  

!regon 6           .  .  .  .         .  . 

ennsylvania 51             8  I 

.hode  Island 7             I  

outh  Carolina 2           15  I         

ennessee 11            12  

exas 15             8  

ermont .  .  8         

irginia 4           20  


322  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

THE  FOURTH   BALLOT—  Continued. 

States  and  Ed-      W.  T.    J.  Sher-  Haw-  Lir 

Territories.             Elaine.  Arthur.  mumls.  Sherman,     man.        ley.        Logan,      col 

West  Virginia 12  .  .  .  .         .  .         ^  .         .».         .  .  Y  j 

Wisconsin 22  .  .             .  .         .  .  » 4 

Arizona 2  .  .  .  .         .  .         .  .         \ 

Dakota 2  ..             '•  .*j 

Idaho 2  .. .rf 

Montana 2  .  .  .  .         .  .         .  .         .  .         .  .  .  Jj 

New  Mexico. 2  .  .         .  .         .  .         .  .         .  ,  .- j 

Utah 2  .  .             J 

Washington  Territory  2  .  .  .  .         .  .          .  .          .  .         .  .  .  j 

Wyoming 2  .  .  .  .         .  .         .  .         .  .         .  .  '.*j 

District  of  Columbia.  I  I              .  .         .  ,  .^ 

Totals 541         207  41         .  .         .  .          15  7  2 

The  Secretary's  announcement  of  the  votes  for  James  ( 
Elaine  got  no  further  than  the  hundreds,  for  his  voice  w; 
lost  in  the  whirlwind  of  applause  that  followed  the  announc 
ment  of  the  fact  of  Blaine's  nomination,  which  had  been 
certainty  ever  since  Shelby  M.  Cullom  had  tried  to  read  h 
telegram  from  John  A.  Logan.  Every  person  in  the  audienc 
delegates  and  visitors  alike,  rose  to  their  feet  simultaneous!; 
and  all  being  Blaine  men  shouted  and  sang  their  delight  ; 
the  success  of  the  man  from  Maine  with  demonstrations  c 
joy  such  as  had  not  been  seen  before  in  the  Convention, 
took  nearly  thirty  minutes  to  get  to  business. 

The  Chair — "  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,"  [the  ushei 
making  diligent  efforts  to  restore  quiet]  "  order."  At  thi 
point  the  booming  of  the  cannon  was  heard;  which  caused  n 
newed  cheering.  The  Convention  at  length  becoming  corr 
paratively  quiet  the  chairman  resumed:  "James  G.  Blain< 
of  Maine,  having  received  the  votes,  of  a  majority  of  all  th 
delegates  elected  to  this  Convention — "  The  chairman  at  thi 
point  finding  himself  unable  to  make  his  voice  heard  in  th 
confusion  that  prevailed  handed  the  written  announcement  t 
the  secretary,  who  read  it  as  follows : 


SELECTING  A  PRESIDENT.  323 

"  James  G.  Elaine  having  received  the  votes  of  a  majority 
)f  all  the  delegates  elected  to  this  Convention,  the  question 
low  before  the  Convention  is,  shall  the  nomination  of  Mr. 
Elaine  be  made  unanimous  ?"  [Cries  of  "  Yes."]  "On  that 
notion  the  Chair  recognizes  Mr.  Burleigh,  of  New  York." 

Mr.  Burleigh,  having  taken  the  platform,  said : 

Mr.  President :  In  behalf  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  at  his  re- 
[uest,  I  move  to  make  the  nomination  of  James  G.  Elaine  unanimous,  and  I 
romise  for  the  friends  of  President  Arthur,  who  are  always  loyal  at  the  polls, 
nd  for  Northern  New  York  20,000  Republican  majority,  and  I  promise  you  all 
lat  we  will  do  all  we  can  do  for  the  ticket  and  for  the  nominee,  and  will  show 
ou  in  November  next  that  New  York  is  a  Republican  State.  It  elected  James 
i.  Garfield,  and  it  will  elect  James  G.  Elaine,  of  Maine.  [Applause.] 

The  Chair — "  The  gentleman  from  Minnesota  has  the  floor." 
Mr.  Sabin,  of  Minnesota,  having  the  floor,  said  : 

Mr.  Chairman,  four  years  ago,  in  this  very  hall,  and  as  a  delegate  to  the 
ational  Republican  Convention,  I  was  opposed  to  Chester  A.  Arthur  and  to  the 
ements  with  which  he  then  associated.  Since  then  he  has  been  called,  under 
ic  most  trying  circumstances,  to  fill  the  first  place  in  the  gift  of  the  people  of 
iis  country.  So  well,  so  nobly,  so  faithfully  has  he  fulfilled  that  trust,  and  so 
appily  has  he  disappointed  not  only  those  of  his  opponents,  but  his  friends;  so 
ally  has  he  filled  the  position  of  the  scholar  and  the  gentleman,  that  he  is  pos- 
essed  of  that  great,  good  common  sense  which  has  made  his  administration  a 
reat  and  pronounced  success,  that  he  has  grown  upon  me,  until  to-day  I  honor 
nd  revere  Chester  A.  Arthur.  [Applause.]  As  a  friend  of  his,  I  no  less  honor 
nd  revere  that  prince  of  gentlemen,  that  scholar,  that  gifted  statesman,  James 
r.  Elaine,  whose  nomination  it  affords  me  the  greatest  pleasure  to  second,  with 
ie  prediction  that  his  name  before  the  country  in  November  will  produce  that 
ime  spontaneous  enthusiasm  which  will  make  him  President  of  the  United 
:ates  on  the  4th  of  March  next.  [Loud  and  prolonged  applause.  Cries  of 
urtis.] 

Mr.  Plumb,  of  Kansas — "  Mr.  Chairman,  this  Convention 
as  discharged  two  of  its  most  important  trusts,  and  is  now, 
otwithstanding  the  length  of  time  it  has  been  in  session  and 
ie  exciting  scenes  through  which  it  has  passed,  in  thorough 
ood  humor,  and  I  believe  we  are  ready  to  go  on  and  con- 
lude  the  business  which  brought  us  all  here."  [No,  no.] 

Mr.  Houck,  of  Nebraska — "  There  is  a  motion  to  make  the 
omination  unanimous.  That  is  the  question  before  the  Con- 
ention,  and  I  call  for  the  regular  order." 


324  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

Mr.  Plumb,  of  Kansas — "  Before  proceeding  with  that  ] 
desire  to  respond  to  the  sentiment  which  pervades  the  entire 
Convention.  I  move  that  this  nomination  be  made  unanimous 
and  I  hope  there  will  not  be  a  dissenting  voice  in  all  this  vasl 
assemblage." 

The  Chair — I  have  been  requested  to  read  to  the  Conven 
tion  the  following  telegraphic  dispatch  : 

The  President  has  sent  the  following  dispatch  to  Mr.  Elaine 

HON.  JAMES  G.  ELAINE,  Augusta,  Maine  : 

As  the  candidate  of  the  Republican  party,  you  will  have  my  earnest,  cordial 
support. 

The  Chair — "  Shall  the  motion  to  make  the  nominatior 
unanimous  prevail  ?  All  those  in  favor  of  that  will  say  '  aye.'  ' 
[The  tremendous  shout  of  "  aye  "  sent  up  by  the  vast  multi 
tude  clearly  demonstrated  the  fact  that  the  nomination  was 
made  unanimous.] 

Mr.  Husted  of  New  York — "  I  move  that  this  Convention 
do  now  adjourn  until  8  o'clock  this  evening,"  which  motion 
prevailed. 

NOMINATING  LOGAN. 

There  was  a  very  large  attendance,  as  well  of  delegates  as 
of  spectators,  at  the  evening  session.  The  galleries  were 
hardly  less  crowded  than  at  any  of  the  preceding  sessions  ;  but 
there  was  a  marked  absence  of  any  other  feeling  than  one  of 
simple  curiosity.  It  was  8.15  o'clock  when  the  Chairman's 
gavel  fell,  and  announced  that  prayer  would  be  offered  by 
Rev.  Dr.  Charles  O'Reilly,  of  Detroit.  Dr.  O'Reilly  is 
treasurer  of  the  Irish  National  League  of  America,  and  is  the 
first  Catholic  to  open  a  Republican  National  Convention  with 
prayer.  It  may  then  be  said  that  the  Republicans  have  intro 
duced  two  new  features  in  this  Convention — a  colored  man  as 
temporary  chairman  and  a  representative  of  the  Catholic 
Church  invited  to  participate  in  the  official  proceedings  on  an 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  325 

equality  with  Protestant  ministers.     Dr.  O'Reilly  is  a  life-long 
Republican. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  prayer,  the  Chair  called  for  the 
names  of  members  of  the  National  Committee  which  had  not 
been  already  sent  up.  Florida  announced  the  name  of  Jesse 
G.  Cales ;  District  of  Columbia,  Col.  Perry  Carson. 

A  resolution  was  passed  permitting  the  State  Central  Com 
mittees  to  name  the  members  of  the  National  Committees  not 
already  named. 

Mr.  Conger,  from  the  District  of  Columbia,  said  the  name 
of  Carson  had  not  been  agreed  upon  by  the  delegation. 

The  Chair  decided  the  gentleman  was  out  of  order. 

Mr.  Conger  wanted  to  know  whether  the  voice  of  the  Dis- 
rict  of  Columbia  is  to  be  suppressed  by  the  Chairman. 

The  Chair — "  I  very  much  wish  I  could  do  so."  [Laughter.] 

Mr.  Conger  insisted  on  speaking,  amid  much  laughter  and 
confusion.  When  order  was  restored,  it  was  announced  on 
>ehalf  of  New  Mexico  that  Stephen  B.  Elkins  had  been  sub- 
tituted  as  a  member  of  the  National  Committee  for  the  gentle 
man  previously  announced,  owing  to  the  resignation  of  the 
atter. 

Mr.   Conger,   of  the   District  of  Columbia,  again  inquired 
whether  Carson's  name  had  been  put  on  the  roll  as  a  member 
f  the  National  Committee. 

The  Chair—"  It  has." 

Mr.  Conger  again  protested,  but  without  success. 

A  resolution  limiting  the  speeches  of  nomination  to  ten 
ninutes  was  passed,  and  the  clerk  then  proceeded  to  call  the 
oil  of  States  for  nominating. 

No  response  was  received  till  Illinois  was  reached,  when 
Senator  Plumb,  of  Kansas,  came  forward. 

He  said  the  Convention  had  completed  two  of  its  most  seri- 


326  SELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

ous  duties — the  adoption  of  a  platform  and  the  nomination  of 
a  candidate  for  President.  The  platform  was  one  on  which 
all  good  Republicans  could  unite,  and  the  candidate  one  who 
can  beat  any  Democrat  living  or  dead ;  but  it  was  still  im 
portant  that  the  best  possible  man  should  be  named  for 
second  place.  It  was  but  a  matter  of  just  recognition  to  the 
great  body  of  soldiers  of  the  war  for  the  Union  that  a  repre 
sentative  from  their  number  should  be  placed  as  second  name 
on  the  ticket.  The  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  had  enrolled 
more  than  three-quarters  of  a  million  of  men  who  lately  wore 
the  blue.  In  presenting  a  name  from  their  ranks  the  speaker 
would  mention  a  man  fitted  in  every  way  for  the  first  place ;  a 
man  who  would  add  strength  to  the  ticket  and  justify  the 
hopes  and  expectations  of  the  party.  That  man  was  Gen. 
John  A.  Logan.  [Loud  applause.]  The  speaker  did  not 
present  him  on  behalf  of  Illinois  nor  of  any  other  State,  but 
of  the  whole  United  States.  He  belonged  no  more  to  Illinois 
than  to  Kansas,  where  seventy-five  thousand  soldiers  would 
receive  the  news  of  his  nomination  with  shouts  of  gladness. 
The  speaker  was  commissioned  by  the  State  of  Kansas  to 
make  this  nomination.  [Applause.] 

Judge  Houck,  of  Tennessee,  in  seconding  the  nomination, 
said,  that  while  the  convention  had  not  chosen  his  first  choice, 
it  had  done  well,  and  the  speaker  proceeded  to  pay  a  tribute 
to  the  plumed  knight  of  Maine.  He  hoped  the  convention 
would  come  to  an  understanding  and  agreement  for  second 
place  on  the  ticket.  When  the  wires  should  timnsmit  the 
news  of  the  nomination  of  General  Logan  to  the  soldier  boys 
of  East  Tennessee  there  would  be  rejoicing  among  them,  as 
there  would  be  everywhere.  On  the  Presidential  nominee 
his  delegation  was  somewhat  divided,  but  when  they  came  to 
name  John  A.  Logan  they  were  united  and  strong. 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  ,27 

0    / 

Mr.  Thurston,  of  Nebraska,  also  seconded  the  nomination. 
He  wanted  the  Republican  party  to  write  upon  its  banner  the 
invincible  legend,  "  Elaine  and  Logan."  [Applause  and  cries 
of  "  Time,  time."] 

Mr.  Lee,  of  Pennsylvania,  in  further  seconding  the  nomina 
tion,  said  the  convention  had  chosen  as  its  candidate  for  Pres 
ident  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  whose  fame  had  grown  to  be 
commensurate  with  that  of  his  native  State  and  also  with  the 
greatness  of  the  nation. 

Congressman  Horr,  of  Michigan,  from  the  head  of  his  dele 
gation,  further  seconded  the  nomination,  saying  that  in  nomi 
nating  John  A.  Logan  the  convention  would  light  the  soldiers' 
camp-fires  from  end  to  end  of  the  country. 

Clancey  (colored),  of  North  Carolina,  in  seconding  the  nom 
ination,  said  that  with  Elaine  and  Logan  his  State  could  be 
carried  for  the  party  by  5000. 

After  further  nominations  from  Georgia  and  Kentucky,  a 
motion  was  made  to  sustain  the  rules  and  make  the  nomina 
tion  of  Logan  by  acclamation.  It  was  put  to  a  vote  and  a 
majority  voted  for  it,  but  as  two-thirds  were  necessary  the  Chair 
ordered  the  roll  called  in  order  to  ascertain  the  numbers  at  the 
request  of  a  delegate,  who  said  there  were  others  who  wished 
to  speak  for  General  Logan. 

Bradley,  of  Kentucky,  eulogized  the  statesmanship  and  sol 
dierly  qualities  of  the  man  whose  name  was  before  the  con 
vention,  and  predicted  that  if  he  were  nominated  for  the  second 
place  the  ticket  would  sweep  the  country. 

Mr.  Lee,  of  South  Carolina,  said  his  State  had  raised  the  first 
colored  soldiers  to  fight  for  the  Union,  and  their  hearts  would 
rejoice  at  his  nomination. 

A  Tennessee  delegate,  interrupting:  "In  the  name  of  three^ 


328  SELECTING  A  -PRESIDENT. 

quarters  of  a  million  soldiers  who  did  not  stay  at  home  during 
the  war,  I  nominate  Black  Jack  Logan." 

Several  other  nominating  speeches  were  made. 

Mr.  O'Hara,  of  North  Carolina — I  suggest  that  we  pro 
ceed  to  nominate  General  Logan,  and  allow  others  who 
want  to  talk  the  privilege  of  printing  their  speeches.  [Laugh- 
ter.] 

A  Virginia  delegate  said  that  in  the  absence  of  General  Ma- 
hone,  owing  to  illness,  he  would  undertake  to  speak  for  Vir 
ginia.  He  could  not,  like  many  who  preceded  him,  appeal 
in  behalf  of  the  Union  soldiers  for  Logan's  nomination,  but 
he  would  speak  for  30,000  Confederate  soldiers,  of  whom  he 
was  one,  and  who  would  rally  to  the  support  of  Elaine  and 
Logan. 

General  J.  S.  Robinson,  of  Ohio,  seconded  the  nomination 
on  behalf  of  his  State,  and  moved  to  suspend  the  rules  and 
make  the  nomination  by  acclamation.  The  question  being 
put  to  a  vote,  it  was  declared  carried.  Great  confusion  fc Al 
lowed.  The  Kansas  banner  was  brought  again,  with  portrait 
of  Logan  added  to  that  of  Blaine.  When  quiet  was  restored 
Congressman  Davis,  of  Illinois,  demanded  the  call  of  roll  on 
the  nomination,  and  the  motion  being  seconded,  it  was  so  or 
dered.  When  New  York  was  reached  George  William  Curtis 
announced  that  his  delegation  was  not  quite  ready,  and  asked 
that  time  be  given  to  make  the  count.  The  request  was  granU  d 
and  the  call  proceeded  with  the  remaining  States.  A  lau;_h 
was  raised  when  the  District  of  Columbia  was  reached  and 
its  two  delegates  rose  in  turn  and  voted  for  Logan, 'this  beii  g 
the  first  time  since  the  opening  of  the  convention  on  which 
they  voted  on  the  same  side  on  any  question  before  the  house. 
The  roll  being  completed  New  York  was  again  called,  arid 
Mr.  Curtis  announced  the  vote  of  that  State  as  one  vote  for 


SELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 


329 


Foraker,  of  Ohio,  six  votes  for  Gresham,  of  Indiana,  and  sixty 
votes  for  Logan.  The  vote  was  unanimous  with  the  exception 
of  these  seven  from  New  York,  Logan's  total  vote  being  779. 
The  nomination  was  then  made  unanimous.  The  thanks  of 
the  convention  were  tendered  to  the  temporary  and  permanent 
officers,  and  the  convention  then  adjourned  sine  die. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ELAINE  AT  HOME — RECEIVING  THE  NEWS  OF  HIS  NOMINATION— His  RESI 
DENCE  AT  AUGUSTA — CONGRATULATIONS  BY  THE  TOWNSPEOPLE — AN  AF 
FECTING  SCENE — WHAT  HIS  PEOPLE  THINK  OF  HIM. 

FRIDAY  afternoon,  June  6th,  Chicago  was  in  a  ferment. 
Within  the  great  exposition  building  ten  thousand  men 
struggled  with  their  pent-up  emotions.  Anticipating  what 
was  about  to  occur,  they  were  wild  with  feverish  excitement  to 
see  it  happen.  Eagerly  craning  their  necks,  they  listened  to 
the  call  of  the  roll  on  the  fourth  ballot.  They  were  morally 
certain  of  the  result,  and  yet  they  held  their  breath  in  a  strained 
impatience  to  hear  that  result  made  history.  The  perspiration 
rolled  down  the  foreheads  of  the  workers  on  the  convention 
floor.  The  long  months  of  energy  and  activity  were  about  to 
culminate  in  victory.  The  great  National  Republican  Con 
vention  presented  at  that  moment  the  most  inspiring  scene  to 
be  seen  in  the  varied  round  of  American  history.  That  Con 
vention  was  about  to  proclaim  the  nomination  of  the  great 
leader  of  the  Republican  party  for  the  highest  office  in  the 
gift  of  the  American  people. 

The  sunshine  streamed  in  the  western  windows  and  illumi 
nated  the  scene — one  never  to  be  forgotten,  never  to  fade  from 
the  eyes  of  those  who  witnessed  it.  As  State  after  State  was 
called  on  the  roll  the  swelling  tide  of  victory  was  increased  by 
vote  on  vote,  the  excitement  grew  apace,  it  became  painfully 
intense.  The  desperate  desire  of  men  to  vent  their  joy  who 
(330) 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  333 

knew  they  had  but  a  moment  to  wait  to  get  the  opportunity 
was  something  remarkable.  Excitement  had  possession  of 
the  very  air  and  suspense  was  in  command.  Slowly,  amid 
the  applause  of  the  floor  and  the  roar  of  the  galleries,  the  roll 
went  on — 250,  300,  320,  380,  then  404,  and  then  418,  and  the 
nomination  was  finished.  James  Gillespie  Elaine  had  received 
more  than  the  half  of  the  820  delegates  who  crowded  the 
Convention  floor,  and  the  end  was  not  yet.  Still  the  roll 
kept  mounting,  still  the  good  work  went  on.  At  length  the 
agony  was  over,  the  nomination  was  made,  and  in  one  last 
and  sky-crowding  shout  the  result  was  thundered  forth  to  the 
outside  world. 

Fifteen  hundred  miles  from  Chicago  on  the  same  afternoon 
the  sunshine  covered  everything  softly  upon  the  banks  of  the 
blue-eyed  Kennebec.  Over  the  hills  at  the  back  of  the  city 
blew  the  Western  breeze,  around  the  dome  of  the  State  House 
it  toyed  with  the  flag  of  the  State,  significant  of  power  united 
in  the  strongest  bands  of  liberty. 

It  blew  gently  across  the  grassy  lawn  and  under  the  beau 
tiful  trees  at  Mr.  Elaine's  home.  Beneath  an  apple-tree  which 
looked  like  a  huge  bouquet  of  white  blossoms  there  swung  a 
hammock.  In  that  hammock  sat  the  owner  of  the  place;  near 
him  was  his  wife  and  some  of  his  children.  Mrs.  Elaine  and 
Miss  Dodge,  "  Gail  Hamilton,"  were  present,  and  his  nearest 
neighbors,  the  Homan  family,  added  three  to  the  group. 
They  were  all  laughing,  joking,  discussing  and  commenting 
upon  the  reports  from  Chicago  as  they  came  in  in  rapid  suc 
cession.  Down  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  James  G.  Elaine,  Jr., 
was  at  the  telephone,  and  in  the  house  at  the  other  end  of  the 
line  stood  Miss  Margaret  Elaine  receiving  the  news.  That 
one  of  the  group  on  the  lawn  that  should  have  shown  the  most 
interest  gave  no  sign  that  he  was  especially  concerned  in  what 


334  HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

was  transpiring.  He  was  calm,  cheerful,  plainly  content  to 
abide  the  result  whatever  it  might  be. 

Suddenly  a  shriek  came  from  the  house,  out  ran  Miss  Mar 
garet  and  flung  herself  impetuously  into  the  arms  of  her 
father  without  a  word.  Gently,  quietly  he  raised  the  excited 
girl  and  kissed  her.  Then  he  kissed  his  wife  and  his  children 
and  Miss  Dodge  and  the  other  ladies  present,  and  shaking 
hands  with  Mr.  Roman  he  passed  into  the  house  without  one 
word  upon  the  great  honor  that  had  fallen  at  that  moment  at 
his  feet.  It  was  indeed  something  to  contemplate.  Before 
him  stood  the  certainty  of  rulership.  For  four  years,  fifty 
millions  of  people  were  to  look  to  him  for  care  and  counsel. 
An  honor  greater  than  that  enjoyed  by  any  monarch  or  ruler 
of  the  world  was  there  at  his  right  hand.  Was  it  a  wonder 
then  that  he  looked  the  question  in  the  face  and  for  a  moment 
gave  no  sound? 

He  had  no  time,  however,  for  contemplation.  The  fast 
crowding  thoughts  that  rushed  across  his  brain — the  inci 
dents,  the  battles,  the  marches,  the  sieges,  of  the  thirty  years 
preceding  his  nomination — were  forced  aside,  driven  out  by 
the  immediate  and  tremendous  clamor  that  rose  upon  the 
evening  air.  Whistles,  the  ringing  of  bells,  the  shouting  of 
happy  people  aroused  him  to  the  exigencies  of  the  moment 
rather  than  to  the  fortunes  of  the  future  or  the  histories  of  the 
past.  A  cannon  was  procured  somewhere  by  some  one  and 
soon  its  thunder  of  applause  joined  in  the  noises.  Windows 
and  doors  were  suddenly  filled  with  flags  bearing  the  name  of 
Blaine.  A  thousand  horns  awakened  the  echoes  of  the  river, 
and  the  demonstrations  that  were  then  started  seemed  to 
gather  strength  from  their  own  utterance. 

As  the  evening  wore  on  the  friends  and  fellow-citizens  of 
Augusta  gathered  about  his  house  where  already  his  imme- 


HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  335 

diate  neighbors  had  long  since  gone.  His  home  was  the 
Mecca  of  the  instant.  A  perfect  tide  of  humanity  surged  up 
and  around  his  door.  It  seemed  as  if  every  man,  woman  and 
child  in  the  city  had  turned  out  to  return  their  cordial  con 
gratulations  to  their  townsman.  The  most  complete  enthu 
siasm  prevailed,  and  the  people  of  Augusta  before  long  were 
reinforced  by  the  arrival  of  special  trains  from  Bath,  Bruns 
wick,  Bowdoinham,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  towns  [along  the 
line  of  the  Maine  Central  Railroad.  A  procession  immedi 
ately  formed  and  moved  to  Mr.  Elaine's  residence.  The 
houses  and  streets  along  the  route  were  illuminated.  As  soon 
as  the  multitude  had  gathered  in  its  plenitude,  crowding  the 
sidewalks  and  streets  and  lawns  all  around,  "  Three  cheers  for 
the  next  President  of  the  United  States,"  was  shouted,  and 
they  were  given  with  such  a  will  as  has  seldom  been  seen  in 
the  heart  of  that  Kennebec  town. 

The  door  opened  and  the  man  in  whose  honor  all  this  was 
done  appeared.  All  demonstration  was  quickly  hushed  and 
he  said:  "  My  Friends  and  My  Neighbors :  I  thank  you  most 
sincerely  for  the  honor  of  this  call.  There  is  no  spot  in  the 
world  where  good  news  comes  to  me  so  gratefully  as  here  at 
my  own  home  among  the  people  with  whom  I  have  been  on 
terms  of  friendship  and  intimacy  for  more  than  thirty  years; 
people  whom  I  know  and  who  know  me.  Thanking  you 
again  for  the  heartiness  of  the  compliment,  I  bid  you  good 
night." 

To  the  later  delegation  he  spoke  as  follows : 

Gentlemen  :  I  am  sure  that  T  must  regard  this  as  a  compliment  totally  unpre 
cedented  in  the  history  of  politics  in  Maine.  [A  voice:  "True."]  I  do  not 
dare  to  take  the  compliment  all  to  myself,  but  I  recognize  the  earnestness  with 
which  you  are  prepared  to  enter  the  pending  national  campaign,  and  I  have  the 
pleasure  to  announce  to  you  from  a  dispatch  which  I  have  just  received  that  I 
have  myself  the  honor  to  be  associated  on  the  Republican  ticket  with  that  brave 


336  HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.' 

and  honorable  soldier,  that  eminent  Senator  and  true  man,  John  A.  Logan,  of 
Illinois.  [Tremendous  applause  and  cheers,  three  times  three,  for  Logan,  and 
a  voice:  "You  can't  beat  that  team."]  I  am  sure,  gentlemen,  that  I  can  add 
nothing  by  my  speech  to  that  fact,  and  you  would  hardly  expect  me  to  do  more 
on  this  occasion  than  to  express  to  you  the  very  deep  obligations  I  feel  under  for 
the  extraordinary  compliment  you  have  paid  me  in  coming  from  your  homes  in 
distant  parts  of  the  State  on  the  announcement  of  the  action  of  the  National  Con 
vention.  I  wish  my  house  was  large  enough  to  contain  you  all,  as  my  heart  is. 
[Shouts  of  "Good,"  and  cheers.]  I  am  sorry  that  the  elements  are  not  as 
auspicious  as  they  might  have  been,  for  your  viUt — [A  voice  :  "We  have  been 
waiting  for  this  shower  eight  years  "] — and  the  way  you  stand  it  is  good  proof, 
I  am  sure,  that  you  are  not  fair-weather  soldiers,  but  are  as  ready  to  come  out  in 
the  storm  as  in  the  sunshine.  Your  energy  and  earnestness  of  this  evening  give 
good  augury  of  your  successful  work  in  the  canvass  in  which  you  will  so  soon 
enter. 

This  was  at  Mr.  Elaine's  home.  Let  us  look  for  a  moment 
at  it.  The  house  is  a  large,  roomy  house  which  he  has  occu 
pied  during  the  past  nineteen  years.  Additions  have  been 
made  to  it  which  have  entirely  altered  its  original  character, 
and  given  it  that  of  a  family  mansion.  It  stands  in  a  large 
open  site  straight  across  from  and  under  the  shadow  of  the 
State  House  of  the  Maine  Capital,  in  which  building  Mr. 
Blaine  won  his  early  political  honors.  To  look  at  this  house 
we  can  readily  see  why  it  has  proved  so  much  of  a  pleasure 
to  its  owner.  It  is  painted  pale  brown,  and  after  you  pass  its 
wide  portal,  with  its  old-fashioned  columns,  you  enter  a  large 
and  roomy  hall  which  stretches  away  through  the  house.  To 
the  left  is  a  large  parlor  made  by  throwing  two  rooms  into 
one,  taking  away  the  original  partition  between,  and  substitut 
ing  fluted  columns  supporting  a  girder.  The  effect  therefore 
is  particularly  pleasing.  This  room  is  exceedingly  elegant  in 
furnishing,  though  quiet.  The  wooden  floor  is  almost  covered 
by  brilliant  Turkish  rugs;  tables  are  adorned  with  Turkish 
cloths  in  all  their  varied  embroidery.  Chinese  porcelains 
with  their  curious  processions  of  a  hundred  wise  men  adorn 
the  tables,  and  the  hundred  wise  men  gaze  at  you  in  painted 
astonishment.  Cairo  portieres  partially  shut  off  a  bay  window 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  337 

and  behind  the  portieres  you  see  the  black  walnut  bookcases 
that  contain  much  of  Mr.  Elaine's  library. 

Upon  the  walls  are  pictures,  landscapes  and  portraits,  and 
among  the  portraits  your  eye  instinctively  singles  out  that  of 
the  great  Commoner  of  Kentucky,  Henry  Clay.  His  curious, 
hard,  yet  winning  features  gaze  down  on  you  with  a  benign 
expression  which  seems  to  say,  "  I  approve  of  this."  While 
below  Clay,  and  resting  its  back  against  the  works  of  Homer, 
is  the  comfortable  face  and  unexampled  features  of  the  first 
Napoleon.  In  this  particular  portrait  of  him,  his  face  wears  a 
smile  such  as  it  wore  only  in  his  hours  of  tremendous  triumph. 
Elbowing  the  tomes  of  the  Grecian  hero  is  "  The  Bread-Win 
ners,"  the  latest  novel,  holding  equal  place  with  the  oldest 
poet,  showing  how  well  Elaine  of  Maine  can  enjoy  a  ramble 
with  the  author  of  the  Iliad,  or  become  cognizant  of  the  latest 
portraiture  of  the  working  classes  of  his  native  land,  for  he  is 
never  too  great  or  too  busy  to  forget  the  humble  individual 
in  his  care  for  the  great  populace. 

Charles  Sumner  was  once  invited  to  meet  a  distinguished 
Russian  gentleman  at  the  house  of  a  friend.  He  declined  in 
a  note,  stating  that  "  his  time  was  so  taken  up  with  problems 
for  benefiting  the  human  race  that  he  had  not  leisure  to  pay 
attention  to  individuals,"  and,  under  this  statement,  which  his 
would-be  host  yet  preserves,  she  had  written :  "  When  last 
heard  from  the  Maker  of  the  universe  had  not  yet  reached 
this  lofty  plane."  The  implied  rebuke  of  this  stinging  sarcasm 
can  never  be  aimed  at  James  G.  Elaine,  and  hence  upon  his 
table  the  dweller  in  literary  fields  will  find  no  wider  mead,  no 
more  charming  meadow,  no  more  delightful  wood  or  river- 
bank.  On  the  other  side  of  the  hall  from  this  room  is  the 
dining-room,  large  and  ample,  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with 
the  generous  hospitality  that  forever  flows  from  it.  The  side- 


338  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

boards  and  furniture  are  simple  and  homelike.  There  is  no 
show  nor  parade. 

In  front  of  this  dining-room,  overlooking  the  street,  is  a 
reception  room,  in  which  the  same  care  and  taste,  and  the 
same  evidences  of  gentler  hands  than  those  of  the  man,  pre 
vail  amid  the  sober  and  softening  colors.  Bookcases,  pictures, 
marbles,  together  with  bronzes,  embellish  and  ornament  this 
place.  At  the  extreme  end  of  the  hall,  in  an  extension  back 
of  these  rooms,  is  the  library — Mr.  Elaine's  workshop  proper. 
A  desk,  a  table,  a  lounge,  some  comfortable  and  unpretentious 
chairs,  and  some  bookcases,  over  one  of  which  is  the  ivory 
gavel  of  his  earlier  days  as  Speaker,  complete  the  place. 
Large  open  windows  picture  to  the  occupant  a  view  of  the 
lawn,  with  its  long  and  gorgeous  shadow  cast  athwart  the 
green  sward.  The  bookcases  are  filled  with  volumes  of  refer 
ence,  Congressional  records,  financial  documents,  department 
reports,  with  a  thousand  manuals  and  encyclopaedias,  that 
serve  to  make  the  position  of  a  statesman  impregnable,  line 
the  shelves.  It  is  here  that  Mr.  Elaine  works,  it  is  here  that 
he  spends  much  of  his  time.  Up-stairs  are  the  large  and  airy 
bed-rooms,  which  were  built  for  comfort  when  the  house  was 
erected,  and  which  no  amount  of  addition  has  yet  been  able 
to  improve.  At  the  rear  of  the  house  additions  in  the  way  of 
stables,  play-rooms,  etc.,  and  rooms  for  the  servants,  have  also 
been  built,  and  the  surroundings  of  the  house  are  made  up 
with  everything  essential  to  comfort,  and  the  brightest  kind 
/of  home-life. 

The  nomination  found  Mr.  Elaine  busy  and  thoroughly 
wrapped  up  in  the  preparation  of  the  second  volume  of  his 
work,  "Twenty  Years  of  Congress;"  it  found  him  so  happy 
in  this  and  in  the  contemplated  prosecution  of  future  literary 
work,  that  for jHrfomcnt  the  interruption,  which  was  to  change 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 


339 


the  whole  course  of  his  being,  came  unwelcomed.  It  was  fol 
lowed,  naturally,  by  a  flood  of  congratulations.  Two  thou 
sand  telegrams  were  showered  upon  him  in  the  first  twenty- 
four  hours  succeeding  the  fourth  ballot  at  the  Republican 
Convention.  The  telegrams  were  followed  up  by  as  many 
letters,  and  the  torrent  that  began  to  pour  upon  him  June  6th 
has  not  yet  abated  one  jot  or  tittle  of  its  fierceness.  Bushels 
of  letters  are  brought  to  the  house  and  dumped  upon  the 
floor  beside  Mr.  Blaine  every  day.  He  tries  to  look  at  them 
all,  a  task  for  half  a  dozen  men.  These  letters  cover  every 
subject  in  the  political  decalogue :  congratulations,  advice, 
opinions,  predictions,  suggestions,  and  everything  else  that  the 
brain  of  man  can  conceive.  By  far  the  large  majority  are 
congratulations.  They  come  from  every  corner  of  the  United 
States,  and  are  written  by  men  in  every  position  of  life.  All 
of  them  indicate  the  warm  regard  in  which  the  people  hold 
him,  and  the  extreme  satisfaction  with  which  the  party  looks 
on  the  work  of  its  chosen  Convention.  Some  of  these  which 
came  by  wire  are  worth  reprinting  here : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  June  6th,  1884. 
HON.  JAMES  G.  BLAINE:  As  the  candidate  of  the  Republican  party,  you  will 
have  my  earnest  and  cordial  support.  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

To  which  Mr.  Blaine  replied  as  follows : 

HON.  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR,  PRESIDENT  U.  S.,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
Accept  my  sincere  thanks  for  your  cordial  assurance. 

JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

To  HON.  J.  G.  ELAINE:  I  most  heartily  congratulate  you  on  your  nomination. 
You  will  be  elected.     Your  friend,  JOHN  A.  LOGAN. 

Mr.  Blaine  sent  the  following  dispatch  to  Mr.  Logan : 

To  JOHN  A.  LOGAN  :  I  am  proud  and  honored  by  being  associated  with  you 
in  the  national  campaign.  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 


340  HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  June  6th  t  1884. 
HON.  J.  G.  ELAINE:  Accept  congratulations  and  cordial  support. 

JOSEPH  R.  HAWLEY. 

INDIANAPOLIS,  IND.,  June  6th,  1884. 

J.  G.  BLAINE:  Accept  my  heartiest  congratulations  on  your  nomination.     \Ve 
will  give  you  the  vote  of  Indiana.  B.  HARRISON. 

NEW  YORK,  June  6th,  1884. 

J.  G.  ELAINE:   Accept  cordial  congratulations,  and  rest  assured  of  the  most 
loyal  and  enthusiastic  support  in  the  Empire  State.          ALONZO  B.  CORNELL. 

On  the  Monday  following  the  delegation  from  the  State  of 
Maine  arrived  at  Augusta,  accompanied  by  that  from  Califor 
nia.  The  men  from  the  Pacific  Coast,  desiring  to  mingle  the 
congratulations  of  the  Golden  Horn  with  the  shouts  of  the 
men  of  the  Kennebec,  a  procession  was  formed  and  proceeded 
to  Mr.  Elaine's  house,  where  already  a  large  and  enthusiastic 
crowd  had  gathered.  It  was  a  notable  assembly ;  men  like 
Hannibal  Hamlin  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  men  of  no 
reputation  beyond  their  own  street  in  one  generous  and  spon 
taneous  outburst  of  enthusiasm.  There  were  many  in  the 
crowd  who  had  waited  patiently  for  years  for  just  this  thing; 
there  were  others  who  had  but  that  night  caught  the  fever 
which  invariably  possesses  every  friend  of  the  Plumed  Knight, 
and  all  that  stood  there  on  the  lawn  crowded  together,  joyous, 
happy,  earnest,  hearty  in  their  demonstration  of  good-will  and 
God-speed.  They  seemed  indeed  triumphant  spokesmen  for 
the  great  body  of  American  freemen.  Mr.  Elaine,  upon  his 
appearance,  was  greeted  with  ringing  cheers,  and  on  their  sub 
siding,  he  spoke  with  a  dignified  manner,  quietly,  gently,  in 
such  a  strong  way  as  to  win  everybody  to  a  hush,  and  make 
them  all  feel  as  if  they  were  in  the  presence  of  a  great  leader. 
His  speech  was  cordial  and  significant  of  his  appreciation  of 
their  testimonial.  It  was  brief  and  to  the  point.  A  sort  of 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  341 

informal  reception  followed,  and  on  the  day  following  the 
delegates  departed. 

A  few  days  later  he  visited  Mr.  Eugene  Hale,  at  Ellsworth, 
in  company  with  General  Logan,  his  fellow-nominee.  At 
Bangor  they  were  tendered  a  spontaneous  reception,  and  there, 
when  the  cheers  had  subsided,  Mr.  Elaine  spoke  as  follows  : 

I  have  had  many  causes  for  great  gratitude  to  the  people  of  Maine  in  these 
many  years  past  for  their  friendship,  their  support  and  their  confidence,  but  I 
never  was  so  profoundly  touched  as  I  have  been  by  the  manner  in  which  I  have 
recently  been  received  by  all  classes,  and  I  might  say  all  parties  in  this  State,  for 
I  have  to  recognize,  beside  the  friendship  of  my  own  political  associates,  the 
courtesy  and  kindness  manifested  by  those  who  have  in  the  past  been  opposed  to 
me  politically.  Whatever  may  be  the  issue  of  the  pending  campaign,  of  which 
it  would  indeed  be  unbecoming  of  me  to  speak,  I  can  say  that  by  the  people  of 
this  State  I  have,  in  this  supreme  crisis  of  my  public  career,  been  already  hon 
ored  in  a  manner  that  gave  me  the  most  intense  satisfaction.  There  is,  after  all, 
an  embarrassment  in  addressing  those  with  whom  one  has  been  associated  for 
long  years  on  intimate  terms.  My  self-esteem  is  not  sufficiently  developed  to 
make  me  think  that  this  vast  assemblage  has  come  together  so  much  to  see  me  as 
to  see  my  gallant  associate  on  the  Republican  ticket,  General  Logan.  As  a  final 
response  for  your  most  generous  reception,  I  will  present  to  you  the  gallant  hero 
from  Illinois. 

To  this  brief  glimpse  of  his  home  I  will  add — as  of  value 
to-day — an  opinion  of  Mr.  Elaine  by  his  neighbors.  Says  the 
Kennebec  Journal,  April  21,  1880: 

A  keen  observer  of  human  nature  says  the  best  test  of  a  man's  real  character 
is  his  home  standing.  "Ask  what  his  friends,  neighbors  and  townsmen  think  of 
him,"  said  Rufus  Choate,  "if  you  want  to  know  what  the  man  really  is."  This 
is  exactly  the  question  which  we  propose  to  answer.  Mr.  Elaine  has  been  a 
citizen  of  this  place  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  living  here  since  he 
was  twenty-three  years  old.  Indeed,  his  whole  life  as  a  man  has  been  identified 
with  this  people.  We  have  known  him  in  every  relation  of  life,  closely  and 
intimately,  through  all  these  years.  And  in  every  relation  of  life,  we  say  in  the 
presence  of  his  daily  associates,  Mr.  Elaine  has  had  a  spotless  career.  As  hus 
band,  father,  neighbor,  friend,  citizen,  business  man,  every  one  in  this  commu 
nity,  without  regard  to  party  lines,  would  yield  unstinted  praise.  In  personal 
morals,  in  habits  of  temperance  and  uprightness,  in  steadfast  devotion  to  all  or 
dinary  as  well  as  extraordinary  duties,  Mr.  Elaine  has  been  a  pattern  to  our 
young  men.  He  has  been  fortunate  in  life,  but  his  good  fortune  has  always 
been  the  logical  result  of  good  habits  and  good  sense ;  and  he  has  been  so  gen 
erous,  not  only  with  money,  but  with  time  and  sympathy,  that  envy  and  jealousy 
have  not  followed  him.  He  has  an  elegant,  refined,  Christian  home,  open  to 


342  HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

every  demand  of  hospitality;  and  there  is  not  a  poor  man  in  town  who  hesitates 
to  enter  it  for  relief  or  who  goes  away  empty-handed. 

Mr.  Blaine  has  always  been  a  model  of  honor  and  uprightness  in  his  financial 
dealings.  His  word  is  as  good  a^  his  bond,  and  no  debt  was  ever  underpaid  or 
grudgingly  paid  or  evaded  by  him.  This  whole  community  will  attest  his  abso 
lute  integrity  and  liberality,  and  will  bear  witness  how  wisely  and  constantly  he 
has  ^iveu  of  his  resources  to  all  good  and  worthy  objects.  The  necessities  of  a 
political  campaign  may  tempt  mud-throwers  to  assail  Mr.  Elaine's  character ;  but 
'against  all  such  efforts  we  present  a  man  who  has  the  universal  respect,  confi 
dence  ami  attachment  of  the  neighbors  who  have  known  him  throughout  his 
whole  career  and  who  know  that  he  has  been  a  centre  of  good  and  not  of  evil 
all  the  days  of  his  life,  a  man  who  has  a  State  behind  him  of  absolute  unanimity 
and  who  has  to-day  a  more  devoted  and  enthusiastic  personal  following  than  any 
other  living  man  in  the  United  States.  Thus  the  city  of  his  residence  sends 
greeting  to  the  young  Republicans  of  Massachusetts  ! 

On  Saturday  morning,  June  21,  the  longest  day  in  the  year, 
the  official  committee  appointed  by  the  National  Convention 
assembled  in  Augusta  to  formally  notify  Mr.  Blaine  of  his 
nomination.  The  committee,  composed  of  one  from  each 
State  and  Territory  and  one  from  the  District  of  Columbia, 
met  at  1 1  A.  M.  and  proceeded  in  a  body  to  Mr.  Elaine's  resi 
dence,  where  they  were  received  by  Mrs.  Blaine.  As  the  day 
was  oppressively  hot,  and  the  rooms  of  the  mansion  were 
crowded  almost  to  suffocation,  it  was  suggested  that  the  pre 
sentation  of  the  address  be  made  upon  the  lawn.  Accord 
ingly  the  committee  and  guests  proceeded  to  a  well-shaded 
portion  of  the  grounds,  where  a  semi-circle  was  formed  and 
all  present  stood  with  uncovered  heads,  making  an  impressive 
scene,  the  rustling  of  spreading  branches  of  great  elms  and 
the  buzzing  of  insects  being  the  only  sounds  to  disturb  the 
stillness. 

When  all  was  in  readiness  Mr.  Blaine  was  escorted  to  the 
lawn,  where  he  stood  within  the  arc  of  the  semi-circle.  Gen 
eral  Henderson  then  stepped  forward  and  presented  the  ad 
dress  of  the  committee.  Reading  from  manuscript  he  spoke 
as  follows: 


HON.    JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  343 

Mr.  Elaine  : — Your  nomination  for  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States 
by  the  National  Republican  Convention,  recently  assembled  at  Chicago,  is  al 
ready  known  to  you.  The  gentlemen  before  you,  constituting  the  committee, 
composed  of  one  member  from  each  State  and  Territory  of  the  country  and  one 
from  the  District  of  Columbia,  now  come  as  the  accredited  organ  of  that  Con 
vention  to  give  you  formal  notice  of  nomination  and  to  request  your  acceptance 
thereof.  It  is,  of  course,  known  to  you  that  besides  your  own  several  other 
names,  among  the  most  honored  in  the  councils  of  the  Republican  party,  were 
presented  by  their  friends  as  candidates  for  this  nomination.  Between  your 
friends  and  friends  of  gentlemen  so  justly  entitled  to  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  their  political  associates  the  contest  was  one  of  generous  rivalry,  free  from 
any  taint  of  bitterness  and  equally  free  from  the  reproach  of  injustice. 

At  an  early  stage  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention  it  became  manifest  that 
the  Republican  States  whose  aid  must  be  invoked  at  last  to  insure  success  to  the 
ticket  earnestly  desired  your  nomination.  It  \vas  equally  manifest  that  the  desire 
so  earnestly  expressed  by  delegates  from  those  States  was  but  a  truthful  reflection 
of  the  irresistible  popular  demand.  It  was  not  thought  nor  pretended  that  this 
demand  had  origin  in  any  ambitious  desires  of  your  own  or  in  organized  work 
of  your  friends,  but  it  was  recognized  to  be,  what  it  truthfully  is,  a  spontaneous 
expression  by  a  free  people  of  love  and  admiration  of  a  chosen  leader.  No 
nomination  would  have  given  satisfaction  to  every  member  of  the  party.  This 
is  not  to  be  expected  in  a  country  so  extended  in  area  and  so  varied  in  interests. 
The  nomination  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  1860,  disappointed  so  many  hopes  and  over 
turned  so  many  cherished  ambitions  that  for  a  short  time  disaffection  threatened 
to  result  in  open  revolt.  In  1872  discontent  was  so  pronounced  as  to  impel 
large  masses  of  the  party  in  organized  opposition  to  it.  For  many  weeks  after 
the  nomination  of  General  Garfield,  in  1880,  defeat  seemed  almost  inevitable. 
In  each  case  the  shock  of  disappointment  was  followed  by  "  sober  second 
thought."  Individual  preferences  gradually  yielded  to  convictions  of  public 
duty.  Promptings  of  patriotism  finally  rose  superior  to  irritations  and  animosities 
of  the  hour.  The  party  in  every  trial  has  grown  stronger  in  the  face  of  threat 
ened  danger.  In  tendering  you  the  nomination  it  gives  us  pleasure  to  remember 
that  those  great  measures  which  furnished  causes  for  party  congratulations  by  the 
late  Convention  at  Chicago,  and  which  are  now  crystalized  into  the  legislation  of 
the  country — measures  which  have  strengthened  and  dignified  the  nation  while 
they  have  elevate'l  and  advanced  the  people — at  all  times  and  on  all  proper  oc 
casions  received  your  earnest  and  valuable  support.  It  was  your  good  fortune 
to  aid  in  protecting  the  nation  against  the  assaults  of  armed  treason.  You  were 
present  and  helped  to  unloose  the  shackles  of  the  slave.  You  assisted  in  plac 
ing  new  guarantees  of  freedom  in  the  Federal  Constitution.  Your  voice  was 
potent  in  preserving  the  national  faith  when  false  theories  of  finance  would  have 
bin  sled  national  and  individual  prosperity.  We  kindly  remember  you  as  the  fast 
friend  of  honest  money  and  commercial  integrity. 

In  all  that  pertains  to  the  security  and  repose  of  capital,  dignity  of  labor,  man 
hood,  elevation  and  freedom  of  the  people,  the  right  of  the  oppressed  to  demand 
and  the  duty  of  government  to  afford  protection,  your  public  acts  have  received 
t!ie-unqiialified  indorsement  of  public  approval.  But  we  are  not  unmindful  of 
the  fact  that  parties,  like  individuals,  cannot  live  entirely  on  the  past,  however 
splendid  the  record  ;  the  present  is  ever  charged  with  its  immediate  cares,  and  the 
future  presses  on  with  its  new  duties,  its  perplexing  responsibilities.  Parties,  like 


344  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

individuals,  however,  that  are  free  from  stains  of  violated  faith  in  the  pa>t,  are 
fairly  entitled  to  a  presumption  of  sincerity  in  their  promises  for  the  future. 
Among  promises  made  by  the  party  in  its  late  convention  at  Chicago,  are  econ 
omy  and  purity  of  administration  ;  protection  of  citizens,  native  and  naturalized, 
at  home  and  abroad ;  prompt  restoration  of  the  navy ;  a  wise  reduction  of 
surplus  revenues,  relieving  the  taxpayers  without  injuring  the  laborer;  the  pres 
ervation  of  public  lands  for  actual  settlers;  import  duties,  when  necessary  at  all, 
to  be  levied  not  for  revenue  only,  but  for  the  double  purpose  of  revenue  and 
protection;  regulation  of  internal  commerce;  settlement  of  internal  differences 
by  peaceful  arbitration,  but  coupled  with  the  reassertion  and  maintenance  of  the 
Monroe  doctrine  as  interpreted  by  the  fathers  of  the  Republic;  perseverance  in 
the  good  work  of  civil  service  reform  to  the  end  that  the  dangers  to  free  institu 
tions  which  lurk  in  the  power  of  official  patronage  may  be  wisely  and  effectively 
avoided;  honest  currency,  based  on  coin  of  intrinsic  value,  adding  strength  to 
public  credit  and  giving  renewed  vitality  to  every  branch  of  American  industry. 
Mr.  Bl.iine,  during  the  last  twenty-three  years  the  Republican  party  has  builded 
a  new  Republic — a  Republic  far  more  splendid  than  that  originally  designed  by 
our  fathers.  Its  proportions,  already  grand,  may  yet  be  enlarged  ;  its  foundations 
may  yet  be  strengthened,  and  its  columns  be  adorned  with  beauty  more  resplendent 
still.  To  you,  as  its  Architect-in-Chief,  will  soon  be  assigned  this  grateful  work. 

Mr.  Elaine  listened  to  General  Henderson's  address  standing 
under  an  elm  tree,  with  his  arms  folded  on  his  chest  and  his 
eyes  cast  down,  but  at  times  wandering  about  and  scanning 
the  faces  of  the  audience.  General  Henderson  had  concluded 
speaking  when  Walker  Elaine,  the  candidate's  son,  stepped 
forward  and  handed  his  father  the  manuscript  of  an  address  in 
reply  to  that  of  the  committee.  Mr.  Elaine  then  read  as  fol 
lows  : 

Mr.  Chairmnn  and  Gentlemen  of  the  National  Convention  :  I  receive  not  with 
out  deep  sensibility  your  official  notice  of  the  action  of  the  National  Convention, 
already  brought  to  my  knowledge  through  the  public  press.  I  appreciate  more 
profoundly  than  I  can  express  the  honor  which  is  implied  in  the  nomination  for 
the  Presidency  by  the  Republican  party  of  the  nation,  speaking  through  author 
itative  voices  of  duly  accredited  delegates.  To  be  selected  as  a  candidate  by  such 
an  assemblage  from  the  list  of  eminent  state>men  whose  names  were  presented 
fills  me  with  embarrassment.  I  can  only  express  my  gratitude  for  so  signal  an 
honor  and  my  des;re  to  prove  worthy  of  the  great  trust  reposed  in  me  in  accept 
ing  the  nomination,  as  I  now  do.  I  am  impressed — I  am  also  oppressed — with 
the  >ense  of  the  labor  and  responsibility  which  attach  to  my  position.  The  burden 
is  lightened,  however,  by  the  host  of  earnest  men  who  support  my  candidacy,  many 
of  whom  add,  as  does  your  honorable  committee,  cheer  of  personal  friendship  to 
pledge  of  political  fealty.  More  formal  acceptance  will  naturally  be  expected, 
and  will  in  clue  season  be  communicated.  It  may,  however,  not  be  inappropri 
ate  at  this  time  to  say  that  I  have  already  made  careful  study  ol  the  principles 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  345 

announced  by  the  National  Convention,  and  that  in  whole  and  in  detail  they 
have  my  heartiest  sympathy,  and  meet  my  unqualified  approval.  Apart  from 
your  official  errand,  gentlemen,  I  am  extremely  happy  to  welcome  you  all  to  my 
house.  With  many  of  you  I  have  already  shared  duties  of  public  service,  and 
have  enjoyed  most  cordial  friendship.  I  trust  your  journey  from  all  parts  of  the 
Great  Republic  has  been  agreeable,  and  that  during  your  stay  in  Maine  you  will 
feel  you  are  not  among  strangers,  but  with  friends.  Invoking  the  blessings  of  God 
upon  the  great  cause  which  we  jointly  represent,  let  us  turn  to  the  future  without 
fear  and  with  manly  hearts. 

21 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

PEN-SKETCH  OF  J.  G.  ELAINE— His  PECULIARITIES— SOME  POINTS  IN  His 
CAREER — His  RELIGIOUS  PROCLIVITIES — WHAT  is  THOUGHT  OF  HIM  IN 
WASHINGTON— His  MANNER. 

TAMES  GILLESPIE  ELAINE  is  a  man  five  feet  eleven 
J  inches  tall,  of  massive  frame,  and  possessed  of  considerable 
flesh  ;  he  has  silvery  gray  hair  and  a  gray  moustache  and  beard, 
which  last  he  wears  trimmed  to  a  point.  Every  lineament  of 
his  face,  which  has  a  large  nose,  brilliant,  piercing  brown  eyes, 
set  deeply  beneath  the  strong  brows  that  overlook  a  char 
complexion  and  a  glowing  cheek,  is  a  strong  one.  If  you 
look  at  his^face  in  repose,  it  seems  somewhat  severe;  if  you 
look  at  it  when  it  is  animated  in  conversation,  you  can  find  no 
more  gentle  expression  nor  one  more  insinuatingly,  inviting  to 
confidence  than  his.  His  manners  are  charming.  He  is  a 
man  of  wonderful  magnetic  quality;  if  you  shake  him  by  the 
hand  once  you  will  never  forget  the  touch  of  his  fingers.  1 1  is 
manners  are  supple  and  easy  ;  the  movement  of  his  body  brisk 
and  live.  He  has  a  manner  thoroughly  frank  and  American, 
yet  not  in  the  least  devoid  of  dignity.  He  is  full  of  sudden 
and  dexterous  turns  of  phrase  and  gesture.  He  is  ah\ ;  ys 
apropos  and  quite  often  witty.  He  is  a  fine  type  of  an  Amer 
ican,  and  devoid  of  respect  or  sympathy  for  those  freezing  con 
ventional  ities  which  disfigure  the  manners  of  European  statjs- 
(346) 


HON.    JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  347 

men,  yet  withal  full  of  a  proud  culture  and  staid  refinement 
much  too  rare  among  politicians  of  the  present  day.  ' 

His  is  a  good  temper  and  temperament,  though  with  a  cer 
tain  intellectual  vehemence  that  might  sometimes  be  mistaken 
for  anger,  of  strong  physique,  ample  powers  of  endurance  and 
of  recuperation,  of  great  activity  and  industry,  kindly  and  frank, 
easily  approachable  and  ready  to  aid  all  good  causes  with 
tongue,  pen  and  purse.  His  studies  have  been  largely  upon 
political  questions  and  political  history.  Everything  connected 
with  the  development  of  the  country  interests  him,  and  he  is  a 
dangerous  antagonist  in  any  matter  of  American  story — espe 
cially  the  United  States — since  the  adoption  of  the  Federal 
Constitution.  He  is  an  intense  believer  in  the  American  Re 
public,  one  and  indivisible  ;  jealous  and  watchful  for  her  honor, 
her  dignity  and  her  right  of  eminent  domain  ;  ready  to  brave  the 
wrath  of  the  East  for  the  welfare  of  the  West,  as  in  the  Chinese 
question ;  ready  to  brave  the  wrath  of  the  Radicals  rather  than 
permit  the  indefinite  suspension  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  ; 
ready  to  brave  the  wrath  of  the  Conservatives  for  the  rights  of 
the  Southern  blacks,  as  in  his  opposition  to  President  Hayes' 
Southern  policy,  and  ready  ever  to  do  and  dare  the  right. 

These  qualities,  added  to  his  magnetism,  make  him  curiously 
attractive  to  strangers,  who  judge,  of  course,  American  as 
foreign  types.  Standing  once  in  a  brilliant  company  at  a 
Washington  reception,  an  Englishman  of  my  acquaintance 
who  was  near  by  asked  me  to  point  out  Mr.  Elaine.  I  did  so. 
"What !  "  he  said,  "  that  gentleman  ?  I  might  have  imagined 
it,  for  I  naturally  supposed  him  to  be  a  noticeable  figure,  but 
that  man  burns  like  a  flame  in  the  crowd." 

This  happy  temperament  of  Mr.  Elaine's,  his  faculty  for 
winning  confidence  with  a  look,  draws  to  him  hosts  of  friends. 
It  is  the  healthy  quality  in  life  for  which  we  all  sigh,  and  when 


34-8  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

we  find  it  in  others  we  not  only  appreciate  but  admire.  It  i 
this  that  makes  him  a  hero  with  the  crowd.  The  people  lik 
to  have  their  ideal  a  bon  enfant.  They  like  to  have  him  eas; 
and  familiar  without  derogating  from  a  proper  decorum ;  the; 
want  him  fond  of  witticisms  and  even  catch-words;  they  wisi 
him  to  stoop  down  to  the  level  of  the  crowd,  without  actuall; 
descending  to  it.  The  masses  despise  awkwardness  and  re 
straint ;  they  admire  crisp,  off-hand  manners  when  combine* 
with  earnestness  and  backed  up  by  a  brilliant  and  solid  repu 
tation.  They  tire  readily  of  sphinxes ;  they  have  no  time  t 
read  riddles.  Of  course  they  know  that  deeds  are  better  thai 
words,  but  they  like  to  discover  a  happy  combination  of  botl 
in  the  character  of  the  man  whom  they  lift  up  to  a  higl 
position. 

As  a  conversationalist  Mr.  Blaine  has  few  equals.  He  ha 
a  keen  appreciation  of  fun,  and  can  tell  a  story  with  wonderfu 
simplicity.  There  is  no  dragging  prelude,  no  verbose  details 
preceding  a  stupid  finale.  A  story  is  presented  always  dra 
matically,  and  fired  almost  as  from  a  gun  when  the  point  i 
reached. 

Mr.  Elaine's  ability  to  entertain  a  private  circle,  as  well  a 
a  public  audience,  shows  that  he  has  powers  as  an  actor ;  ye 
even  in  his  private  talk  he  does  not  fall  into  the  habit  of  tin 
average  public  man  of  making  speeches  or  soliloquizing.  H< 
is  quite  willing  to  listen  when  any  one  has  anything  to  say 
and  never  appears  more  at  his  best  than  when  he  is  taking 
part  in  a  running  fire  of  bright,  sharp  talk.  He  has  a  fund  o; 
personal  anecdotes  which  he  employs  in  the  most  apt  \va) 
upon  every  occasion,  and  he  tells  his  stories  as  if  he  enjoyec 
them  himself,  and  they  very  often  emphasize  his  meaning  a; 
no  heavier  argument  could  do.  "  Mr.  Blaine,"  wrote  Mr 
Ramsdcll,  in  1880,  "  is  the  most  popular  of  men.  The  charn: 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  349 

of  his  manner  is  beyond  expression,  and  nobody  comes  within 
the  circle  of  his  presence  that  is  not  overcome  with  his  fascin 
ations.  With  his  great  brilliancy,  he  has  that  exquisite  show 
of  deference  to  his  companions,  a  sort  of  appeal  to  them  to 
verify  or  deny  his  words,  which  is  very  taking.  He  is  also  a 
very  good  listener,  and  has  a  familiar  way  of  speaking  one's 
name,  and  of  placing  his  hand  on  one's  knee,  that  is  an  agree 
able  salve  to  one's  vanity.  There  is  no  acting  in  the  hearti 
ness  of  his  manner;  he  is  an  impulsive  man,  with  a  very  warm 
heart,  kindly  instincts  and  generous." 

The  best  thing  about  him — and  it  is  one  that  should  not  be 
forgotten — is  the  fact  that  he  is  an  American.  He  is  a  Re 
publican  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word.  There  is  nothing  for 
which  he  has  so  sincere  a  contempt  as  for  affectation  of  any 
kind,  and  he  believes  in  every  man's  right  to  think  as  he 
chooses.  Singularly  enough,  to  him  of  this  independence  of 
character  and  generosity — for  if  Mr.  Elaine  has  a  weak  point 
it  is  that  he  is  too  generous — has  been  presented  a  peculiar 
annoyance  in  the  attempt  to  make  political  capital  against  him 
by  charging  that  he  is  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church.  The  smallness  of  such  a  charge  it  is  not  necessary 
to  state ;  but  the  great  big  heart  answered  the  question  fully 
and  fair  and  free,  in  a  letter  written  to  Dr.  James  King,  of 
Pittsburg,  dated  Washington,  March  loth,  1876.  To  Dr. 
King  he  said :  "  I  agree  that  the  charge  of  my  being  a  Catho 
lic  is  very  provoking,  considering  the  motive  that  inspires  it, 
and  very  exasperating  when  I  see  it  connived  at,  if  not,  in  fact, 
originated  by  men  who  sat  with  me  in  the  Presbyterian  Bible 
class  when  I  was  a  student  and  you  a  Professor  in  Washing 
ton  College.  But,  while  thanking  you  for  what  you  have 
jdonc  to  set  my  Pittsburg  friends  right  on  this  question,  I  will 
inevcr  consent  to  make  any  public  declaration  upon  the  sub- 


35O  HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

ject,  and  for  two  reasons :  First,  because  I  abhor  the  intro 
duction  of  anything  that  looks  like  a  religious  test  or  qualifi 
cation  for  office  in  a  republic,  where  perfect  freedom  of  con 
science  is'  the  birthright  of  every  citizen;  and,  second,  because 
my  mother  was,  as  you  well  know,  a  devout  Catholic.  I 
would  not  for  a  thousand  Presidencies  speak  a  disrespectful 
word  of  my  mother's  religion,  and  no  pressure  will  draw  me 
into  any  avowal  of  hostility  or  unfriendliness  to  Catholics, 
though  I  have  never  received,  and  do  not  expect,  any  political 
support  from  them." 

And  upon  this  question,  Dr.  King,  Surgeon-General  of 
Pennsylvania  during  the  war,  writes  this  further  statement : 

I  was  a  member  of  the  faculty  of  Washington  College  when  Mr.  Blaine  was 
a  student  there.  He  entered  the  preparatory  department  when  only  twelve  years 
of  age,  and  from  that  time  until  his  graduation,  he  was  a  constant  attendant  upon 
the  service  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  which  had,  and  still  has,  the  exclusive 
control  of  the  college.  There  was  no  Catholic  church  in  the  town.  Attendance 
upon  church  service  was  required  of  the  students,  and  their  absence  from  it  was 
noted,  and  it  was  said,  and  I  believe  it  to  be  true,  that  Mr.  Blaine  never  missed 
attending  church  a  single  Sunday  during  his  entire  collegiate  course.  It  was  also 
true  that  he  was  never  absent  from  a  recitation  during  his  whole  course;  and 
this  boyhood  punctuality  must  have  followed  him  into  public  life,  for  I  have 
often  seen  it  stated  in  the  papers  that  during  his  Speakcrship  of  six  years  he  was 
never  out  of  the  chair  for  a  single  day.  Mr.  Blaine  graduated  in  1847,  before  he 
was  eighteen  years  old,  in  a  large  and  well-remembered  class.  Mr.  Blaine's 
father  came  from  a  well-known  and  distinguished  Carlisle  family,  of  the  old 
Colonial  and  Revolutionary  stock — a  family  specially  marked  in  all  its  branches 
for  strict  adherence  to  the  Presbyterian  faith.  His  mother,  a  talented,  beautiful, 
widely-beloved  and  truly  Christian  lady,  was  from  an  equally  prominent  Catholic 
family,  and  this  fact  has  probably  given  rise  to  all  the  unfounded  gossip  about 
Mr.  Blaine  having  been  a  Catholic.  No  one  knew  better  than  his  mother  that 
he  was  a  firm  Protestant,  for  I  very  frequently  conversed  with  her  upon  the 
matter  during  the  last  twenty-five  years  of  her  life — for  the  greater  part  of  which 
I  was  her  Attending  physician.  Mr.  Bl.iine  simply  followed  the  traditionary 
faith  of  his  father's  family,  and  when,  in  his  early  manhood,  he  settled  in  New 
England,  he  naturally  attended  the  Orthodox  Congregational  church,  of  which 
he  was  a  member  for  more  than  twenty  years. 

In  his  domestic  life  Mr.  Blaine  has  been  remarkably  blessed. 
He  is  veiy  happy  in  his  family.  None  of  his  children  appear 
to  regard  him  as  more  than  a  big  brother,  to  whose  tender 


HON.    JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

solicitude  they  can  at  all  times  turn.  He  is  essentially  a 
family  man,  and  unless  called  out  by  a  dinner  or  some  social 
gathering  is  always  at  home.  When  in  Washington,  he  be 
longs  to  no  club,  and  keeps  more  to  himself  than  a  man  of 
his  social  instincts  might  be  expected  to  do.  He  does  not 
even  play  the  game  of  poker,  which  is  so  general  an  accom 
plishment  with  public  men.  He  has  nothing  of  the  reputation 
of  the  prude,  but  in  reality  his  private  life  is  as  irreproachable 
as  the  most  rigid  moralist  would  ask.  He  is  one  of  the  few 
men  in  public  life  whose  name  has  never  been  coupled  with 
any  intrigues  of  a  social  character.  He  is  a  very  temperate 
man  at  the  table.  He  occasionally  drinks  a  glass  of  wine,  but 
he  never  joined  the  whiskey-drinking  ranks  in  either  the 
House  or  the  Senate.  Yet  you  would  not  notice  Mr.  Elaine's 
temperance,  as  there  is  no  assumption  of  especial  virtue  put 
upon  it ;  he  says  nothing  about  it,  and  when  asked  to  partake 
socially  with  his  public  associates,  he  has  invariably  managed 
to  avoid  indulgence  without  giving  the  idea  that  he  has  any 
wish  to  criticise  another. 

He  married,  as  I  have  related  elsewhere,  Miss  Harriet  Stan- 
wood,  of  Augusta,  and  as  a  result  of  this  union  six  children 
have  been  born.  The  first,  Stanwood  Blaine,  named  for  his 
mother,  died  when  a  little  less  than  two  years  old.  The  next 
son  was  Walker  Blaine,  named  for  his  uncle.  This  young 
gentleman  is  now  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  a  graduate  of  the 
Yale  Law  School,  and  he  has  already  won  his  spurs  in  public 
life.  He  was  appointed  by  President  Garfield — and  his  ap 
pointment  was  almost  the  last  official  act  of  the  unfortunate 
President — the  Third  Assistant-Secretary  of  State,  an  office 
which  he  filled  with  credit  for  one  year,  when  he  resigned. 
During  that  time,  in  company  with  Mr.  Trescott,  Mr.  Walker 
Blaine  made  his  celebrated  trip  to  South  America,  for  the  pur- 


35 2  HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

pose  of  attempting  a  mediation  between  Chili  and  the  con 
quered  State  of  Peru.  It  was  this  journey,  as  much  as  any 
thing,  which  led  to  criticism  of  Mr.  Elaine's  foreign  policy,  and 
it  was  revised  so  promptly  by  the  Secretary's  successor,  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen,  that  Messrs.  Blaine  and  Trescott  were  placed 
in  an  exceedingly  awkward  position,  from  which  they  re 
treated  with  commendable  tact.  It  was  hardly  to  be  supposed 
that  Mr.  Blaine  could  continue  in  the  service  of  a  government 
which  had  so  signally  rebuked  him.  Mr.  Walker  Blaine  at 
present  holds  the  position  of  second  solicitor  on  behalf  of  the 
government  before  the  Alabama  Claims  Commission. 

Mr.  Blaine's  third  child  was  a  son,  Robert  Emmons  Blaine, 
named  after  the  distinguished  jurist,  with  whom  his  grand 
father,  Jacob  Stanwood,  had  had  such  close  business  relations, 
who  is  at  present  twenty-six  years  of  age.  He  is  a  graduate  of 
the  Harvard  Law  School,  but  not  caring  for  the  profession  of 
the  law,  and  possessing  his  father's  distinguished  abilities 
for  business,  he  entered  a  mercantile  life,  and  at  present  is 
one  of  the  minor  officers  in  the  service  of  the  Chicago  and 
Northwestern  Railway,  at  Chicago.  The  next  child,  a  daugh 
ter,  Alice,  a  charming  girl,  who  inherits  her  father's  spirit  with 
her  mother's  good  sense,  is  twenty-three  years  old,  and  was 
married  nearly  two  years  ago  to  Lieutenant  Coppinger,  of  the 
United  States  Army.  A  child  was  born  to  them  last  winter, 
Mr.  Blaine's  first  grandchild.  The  next  daughter,  Margaret, 
is  nineteen  years  of  age,  and  is  a  girl  of  charming  manners 
and  address,  who  certainly  has  inherited  her  father's  distin 
guished  talent  for  making  friends.  She  is  a  bright  brunette, 
and  is  of  great  assistance  to  her  mother.  James  Gillespie 
Blaine,  Jr.,  who  bears  his  father's  distinguished  name,  is  fifteen 
years  of  age,  and  is  an  agreeable  lad  just  preparing  to  enter 
the  doors  of  Harvard  College.  Then  there  is  one  younger, 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  353 

"  the  baby,"  Harriet,  named  for  her  good  mother,  twelve  years 
old  this  summer.  This  completes  the  list  of  Mr.  Elaine's  chil 
dren.  A  happier  band  of  brothers  and  sisters  it  would  be 
hard  to  find.  They  belong  to  and  are  thoroughly  in  sympa 
thy  with  that  long-headed  and  sensible  class  of  our  people 
who  believe  in  standing  by  each  other. 

In  addition  to  his  home  in  Augusta,  Mr.  Elaine  is  the  owner 
of  a  house  in  Washington.  The  Blaines  have  been  a  promi 
nent  family  at  the  Capitol  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
When  he  first  appeared  there,  in  1862,  he  went  at  once  to 
housekeeping,  occupying  a  small  residence  on  Ninth  street, 
near  F,  in  a  stuffy  and  unfashionable  quarter  of  town.  Later, 
when  Speaker,  his  circumstances  having  so  improved  that  he 
was  able  to  live  in  more  comfortable  style,  he  rented  a  house  in 
Fifteenth  street,  near  McPherson  square,  in  one  of  the  most 
fashionable  quarters  of  the  city.  It  was  here  that  he  lived 
until  two  years  ago,  and  here  his  three  youngest  children  were 
born.  It  was  in  this  house,  also,  that  he  lived  while  Secre 
tary  of  State  under  the  short  administration  of  President  Gar- 
field,  and  it  was  one  night  while  he  and  Garfield  were  talking 
and  walking  lovingly  together  from  his  residence  to  the  White 
House  that  Guiteau  lay  skulking  in  an  alley,  determined  to 
assassinate  the  President  but  unable  to  screw  up  his  courage  to 
the  deed.  About  three  years  ago  he  bought  an  expensive  lot 
fronting  on  Dupont  Circle,  in  the  extreme  northwestern  por 
tion  of  the  city,  and  proceeded  to  erect  upon  it  one  of  the 
finest  houses  in  the  District,  where  he  had  intended  to  live  as 
Secretary  of  State,  but  the  untimely  death  of  the  President 
prevented  the  carrying  out  of  this  plan,  and,  moreover,  he 
found  it  more  expensive  than  was  prudent.  The  house  was 
complete  in  style  and  appointments,  but  was  so  large  as  to  re 
quire  a  dozen  servants  to  properly  conduct  it.  This  gave 


354  HON.  JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

Mrs.  Elaine  a  vast  amount  of  trouble,  and  she  and  her  husband 
finally  determined  to  rent  the  house,  a  customer  being  found 
in  the  person  of  Mr.  Leiter,  of  Chicago.  Mr.  Blainc  then 
rented  a  house  on  Jackson  Square,  next  door  to  that  occupied 
by  General  Beale,  and  opposite  to  the  historical  residence  of 
General  Sickles.  On  another  side  of  this  square  lives  Mr. 
Corcoran,  and  the  White  House  fronts  it  on  the  south.  It  is 
a  famous  square,  partly  for  its  prancing  statue  of  Andrew 
Jackson,  and  with  horticulturists  for  its  variety  of  shrubs  and 
trees,  the  largest  in  any  small  park  in  the  country. 

It  was  in  this  quiet  scene  that  Mr.  Blaine  wrote  his  history, 
with  Bancroft's  house  within  a  stone's  throw  in  one  direction 
and  the  executive  mansion  as  near  in  the  other.  The  house  is 
of  plain  substantial  brick,  with  a  brown  stone  front  and  mansard 
roof.  The  second  story  of  this  house  was  Mr.  Elaine's  work 
room.  Across  the  end  nearest  the  window  is  a  long  table, 
littered  with  books  and  papers  in  about  the  order  one  would 
find  upon  the  desk  of  a  working  editor.  The  rest  of  the 
furniture  is  that  of  a  plain  bed-room,  for  this  work-room  by 
day  was  a  sleeping-room  by  night.  Here  when  engaged 
upon  his  book  he  worked  with  his  private  secretary,  and 
threw  into  the  labor  persistent  energy.  The  better  portions  of 
the  book  and  those  that  stirred  his  nature  to  a  deeper  depth 
he  wrote  with  his  own  hand ;  for  he  believes  that  dictation 
can  only  be  successfully  employed  for  pure  narrative,  and  that 
to  compose  anything  in  the  way  of  an  essay  or  in  the  line  of 
pure  thought,  to  attain  the  higher  range  of  literature,  the 
author  must  write  with  his  own  hand,  if  he  is  seeking  to 
create  a  work  which  is  to  live.  In  the  preparation  of  his  book 
he  worked  as  steadily  as  ever  did  Anthony  Trollope.  Fifteen 
hundred  words  he  considered  a  good  day's  work.  More  than 
this  he  did  not  average,  although  at  times  he  has  spurted  up 


HON.   JAMES  G.    BLAINES   WASHINliTDN    RKSIDENCE. 


HON.   JAMES    G.    BLAINE.  357 

to  the  limit  of  eight  thousand  words,  with  the  aid  of  his  sec 
retary.  When  he  retired  to  private  life,  through  the  unfor 
tunate  directness  of  the  assassin's  bullet,  he  at  first  contem 
plated  going  back  to  his  old  editorial  work  ;  but  the  cost  of  a 
metropolitan  newspaper  and  the  doubtful  possibilities  con 
nected  with  it  made  him  hesitate.  He  thought  also  of  a 
political  weekly,  but  it  was  the  history  which  finally  captured 
his  mind.  With  a  modest  investment  required  for  the  pur 
chase  of  several  quarts  of  ink,  numerous  reams  of  paper  and 
boxes  of  pens  and  the  labor  of  five  or  six  hours  a  day  for 
nearly  two  years,  Mr.  Elaine  will  realize  what  even  in  these 
days  must  be  regarded  as  a  handsome  fortune. 

His  present  fortune  is  one  that  has  been  the  subject  of  a 
great  deal  of  gossip.  The  romancers  have  stated  it  to  be  as 
high  as  two  millions  of  dollars.  This  is  an  enormous  ex 
aggeration.  He  is  in  easy  circumstances,  and  has  enjoyed  for 
years  a  liberal  income  from  his  coal  properties.  He  is  not  an 
avaricious  man,  nor  is  he  niggardly  in  his  expenditures.  He 
seems  to  have  joined  to  the  liberal  and  hospitable  friendliness 
of  the  West  the  conservative  carefulness  of  the  East.  His 
style  of  living  at  Washington  has  always  been  comfortable, 
never  extravagant.  His  carriages  and  his  horses,  of  which  he 
is  very  fond,  would  never  attract  notice  anywhere,  while  at  the 
same  time  they  are  plenty  good  enough  for  any  gentleman 
to  use. 

In  his  manners,  as  before  stated,  he  is  essentially  a  democrat, 
as  he  has  never  shown  any  pride  of  person.  He  is  simple 
and  unaffected.  He  harbors  few  if  any  resentments.  The 
general  public  have  supposed  him  to  be  an  enemy  of  the  ex- 
Senator  from  New  York,  Roscoe  Conkling.  This  is  not  true. 
He  has  a  most  intense  spirit  and  a  fiery  temper  when  provoked, 
but  when  his  rage  explodes  no  slumbering  resentment  is  left 


358  HON.    JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

behind.  He  does  not  believe  in  the  statesmanship  of  revenge. 
Upon  this  subject  he  said  one  day :  "  Life  is  too  short  to  lie 
and  wait  for  personal  retaliation  for  injury  received.  If  you 
can  strike  out  a  good  strong  blow  at  the  time,  well  and  good  ; 
but  the  world  moves  too  fast  for  one  to  waste  his  life  in  wait 
ing  for  an  opportunity  to  gratify  mere  personal  revenge." 

Summing  up  one  finds  so  much  to  admire  in  his  varied  in 
formation,  his  social  culture,  his  power  and  individuality  as  a 
statesman  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  that  one  is  continually 
tempted  in  the  direction  of  extravagant  eulogy.  If  one 
wishes  to  be  Mr.  Elaine's  enemy,  he  must  keep  away  from 
him,  beyond  the  reach  of  his  voice,  and  close  his  eyes  and 
ears  to  anything  but  the  ancient  stories  of  the  calumniators. 
"  Criticism  of  this  brilliant  and  able  man,"  wrote  a  dis 
tinguished  journalist  recently,  "  should  be  left  to  those  who 
know  that  they  are  better  than  he ;  by  men  who  have  never 
made  any  mistakes ;  by  those  who  have  always  done  right, 
and  who  think  the  United  States  is  the  kingdom  of  Heaven^ 
and  whose  one  regret  in  life  is  the  sorrowful  fact  that  the 
majority  of  men  are  not  like  unto  them  in  goodness." 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

WHAT  OF  THE  FUTURE? — ELAINE  AS  A  STATESMAN — His  POLICY — A  RE 
FORMER — DISTRIBUTING  THE  SURPLUS — A  PREDICTION. 

WHAT  of  the  future?  Mr.  Elaine  has  been  nominatec 
and  endorsed  by  the  Republican  party.  When  th< 
nomination  reached  him  at  Augusta,  coming  in  a  vivid  flasl 
over  the  electric  wires,  he  paused  to  look  back.  For  years  th< 
White  House,  the  legitimate  apex  of  his  brilliant  career,  ha: 
been  in  the  distance.  Fight  after  fight  has  been  waged  in  hi: 
behalf  looking  to  his  nomination  for  the  Presidency,  and  figh 
after  fight  has  been  lost.  At  two  Conventions  his  follower: 
had  signally  failed,  and  a  third  time,  unaided  by  him  in  evei 
so  much  as  the  lifting  of  a  finger  or  the  uttering  of  a  word 
they  had  pushed  forward  and  won  a  brilliant  victory,  and  th< 
echoing  shout  that  proclaimed  their  success  from  Los  Angele: 
to  the  Maine  woods  had  laid  at  his  feet  an  echo  of  a  grea 
triumph.  Yet  he  could  not  hear  it  without  a  feeling  of  sad 
ness.  Although  his  career  could  have  no  legitimate  outcom< 
other  than  this,  he  was  hardly  prepared  for  it ;  in  the  depth: 
of  his  heart  he  did  not  want  it.  Not  that  he  scorned  th< 
honor,  not  that  he  wished  to  avoid  the  dignity,  not  that  h< 
failed  to  appreciate  the  greatness  that  had  been  tendered  tc 
him ;  not  that  he  underestimated  the  belief  and  respect  fo 
him  entertained  by  his  fellow-citizens ;  but,  standing  on  th< 
threshold  of  the  highest  dignity  that  can  be  obtained  in  ar 

(359) 


360  HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

American  career,  he  paused  with  the  same  feeling  of  awe  that 
came  over  him  when  twenty-eight  years  before  he  had  trem 
blingly  stood  up  before  his  fellow-citizens  and  cast  his  gauntlet 
into  the  ring  in  behalf  of  his  country  and  the  tight. 

He  paused  now,  not  through  fear,  but  in  a  doubt  that  pos 
sibly  in  the  four  burdensome  years  to  come  he  might  not  be 
able  to  reach  the  high  ideal  that  he  himself  believed  to  attach 
to  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Elaine's 
political  sympathies  and  his  profound  love  for  America  and 
Americans  had  taught  him  that  the  trusts  of  the  Presidency 
were  such  as  no  man  could  decline,  and  that  every  man 
should  accept  with  a  profound  sense  of  their  importance. 

Then,  too,  the  first  wave  of  resounding  applause  brought 
with  it  the  undertow  of  slander.  There  were  those  ready  and 
more  than  willing  to  denounce  him  as  possessed  of  a  venal 
nature,  and  willing  to  sacrifice  for  base  considerations  the 
interest  he  has  sworn  to  defend.  It  is  not  necessary  here  to 
review  these  charges  or  to  recount  them.  From  time  to  time* 
as  they  came  up,  they  were  met  instantly,  eagerly  by  Mr. 
Blaine,  and  every  investigation  ended  in  a  triumphant  victory 
for  him. 

When  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate,  in  1867,  he  was  elected 
in  the  face  of  an  accumulation  of  every  charge  that  had  ever 
been  brought  to  bear  against  him.  The  papers  of  the  oppo 
sition  had  filled  their  wide  columns  with  all  the  accusations 
they  could  hear  or  manufacture,  and  these  papers  were  sent  into 
his  native  State,  where  men  knew  him,  by  the  thousands  upon 
the  eve  of  the  election.  What  was  the  result?  The  Maine 
Legislature  carefully  considered  every  charge,  revised  every 
story,  and  then  elected  Mr.  Blaine  unanimously.  Is  any  further 
confirmation  of  Mr.  Blainc's  integrity  needed  in  the  face  of 
this?  I  think  not. 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  31 

Eight  years  ago,  the  Hon.  Nelson  Dingley,  of  Lewiston, 
presented  this  well-drawn  picture  of  the  man  of  the  hour.  The 
portrait  has  not  been  rendered  in  the  least  out  of  date  by  the 
years  that  intervene.  In  his  paper  Mr.  Dingley  said : 

The  popular  instinct,  which  is  often  quicker  and  sharper  than  the  perception 
of  partisan  leaders  and  pretentious  publicists,  keenly  discerns  the  strong  qualities 
of  Hon.  James  G.  Elaine  as  the  Presidential  candidate  to  lead  the  Republican 
party  to  victory  in  the  approaching  national  contest.  His  clear  comprehension 
of  the  national  duties  and  necessities,  his  thorough  appreciation  of  the  vulnerable 
points  of  the  enemy,  and  the  fenrless  directness  with  which  he  aims  his  blows, 
have  awakened  the  popular  enthusiasm  to  a  degree  that  is  disturbing  the  nerves 
of  sleepy  conservatives,  and  exciting  the  fears  of  the  Confederate  politicians  of 
the  South  and  their  Democratic  allies  of  the  North.  His  rising  popularity  has  a 
substantial  cause,  which  timid  politicians  do  not  seem  to  comprehend.  A  certain 
cla>s  of  individuals,  of  limited  numbers,  while  admitting  that  the  popular  tide  is 
rising  in  his  favor,  try  to  break  the  force  of  this  fact  by  asserting  that  the  masses 
are  not  capable  of  correctly  estimating  him — that  he  is  a  sagacious  politician,  but 
not  a  statesman.  Men's  standard  of  statesmanship  varies  greatly,  according  to  tem 
perament  and  moral  and  political  education.  That  of  some  persons,  assuming 
to  be  judges,  is  very  peculiar.  There  have  been  Englishmen  who  have  regarded 
Sir  William  Temple  a  wiser  statesman  than  Lord  Chatham.  Of  the  former  Ma- 
caulay  remarks:  "  \Ve  must  own  that  many  statesmen  who  have  committed  very 
great  faults  appear  to  us  to  be  deserving  more  esteem  than  the  faultless  Temple." 
For  in  truth  his  faultlessness  is  chiefly  to  be  ascribed  to  the  dread  of  all  respon 
sibility.  He  never  puts  himself  prominently  before  the  public  eye  except  at 
conjunctures  where  he  was  almost  certain  to  gain  and  could  not  possibly  lose. 
But  to  all  sensible  minds  the  placid,  cautious,  timid  statesmanship  of  Temple 
seems  diminutive  in  contrast  to  the  bold  measures  of  cabinet  and  rugged,  aggres 
sive  parliamentary  eloquence  of  Lord  Chatham.  Not  un frequently  in  our  politi 
cal  history  have  these  assumptions  of  superior  judgment  been  made  by  certain 
professed  teachers  of  the  people.  When  Daniel  Webster,  with  the  massive  force 
of  his  logic  and  eloquence,  crushed  into  impalpable  dust  the  errors  in  political 
economy  and  the  heresies  of  Calhoun  and  Hayne,  he  was  declared  to  be  no 
statesman,  but  merely  a  disturbing  agitator,  a  New  England  politician  not  to  be 
followed.  \Vhen  John  Quincy  Adams  boldly  defended  the  sacred  rights  of  peti 
tion  in  the  National  House  of  Representatives,  where  it  had  been  repeatedly 
trampled  beneath  the  despotic  heel  of  the  Southern  and  Northern  Democracy,  he 
was  declared  to  be  merely  a  noisy  demagogue  who  was  reopening  an  unprofitable 
question  and  exciting  unpleasantness  among  Southern  brethren,  to  the  general 
injury  of  the  country.  In  the  eyes  of  these  good-natured  quielists,  Edward 
Everett,  uttering  his  polished,  elaborate  platitudes,  which  carried  with  them  no 
lightnings  of  heated  indignation  against  national  injustice,  were  thought  to  be 
more  statesmanlike  than  the  bold  and  scorching  words  of  Charles  Sumntr  on  the 
barbarism  of  American  slavery,  and  the  strong  and  fearless  denunciation  of 
Herry  Wilson  and  Salmon  P.  Chase  against  the  fugitive  slave  law.  The  calm, 
noble  declarations  of  a  "  Higher  Law,"  by  William  H.  Seward,  were  regarded 
as  conclusive  evidence  of  his  unfitness  for  Whig  leadership,  while  his  bold  an- 


362 


HON.   JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 


nouncement  of  the  "  irrepressible  conflict  between  slavery  and  freedom,"  anc 
its  endorsement  by  Abraham  Lincoln  in  the  debate  with  Stephen  A.  Douglas 
showed  these  two  Republicans  utterly  destitute  of  statesmanship.  Men  unac 
customed  to  the  stubborn  work  of  genuine  public  life  pronounced  Millard  Fi.l 
more,  John  Bell,  Horatio  Seymour,  and  other  men  of  mere  platitudes,  the  mos\ 
pacific  and  wise  national  leaders. 

Standing  now  as  the  most  influential  member  of  the  Republican  party  of  th« 
Union,  Mr.  Elaine  holds  a  leadership  he  has  fairly  won  after  twenty  years  of 
manly,  vigorous  effort,  growing  in  wisdom  and  strength  with  each  succeeding 
year  equal  to  every  occasion  on  which  he  is  called  to  play  a  part.  Yet  there  art 
those  who  concede  his  popularity  and  the  consummate  ability  and  tact  with 
which  he  confronts,  out-generals,  and  defeats  the  Democratic  party  and  is  lead 
ing  the  Republicans  to  success,  yet  insists  that  he  is  no  statesman — that  he  is  only 
a  politician.  Very  singular  ideas  these  wonderful  critics  have  of  statesmanship. 
"What  do  they  really  mean  by  their  use  of  terms? 

Webster  defines  a  statesman:  "A  man  versed  in  the  arts  of  government;  one 
eminent  for  political  abilities."  Brought  to  a  practical  test,  we  doubt  if  there 
is  another  man  in  the  country  more  thoroughly  acquainted  with  all  the  forms, 
methods,  and  workings  of  the  States  and  national  government  of  this  country 
than  James  G.  Blaine.  There  are  men  who  in  action  and  available  power  are 
much  less  than  their  written  or  spoken  words ;  there  are  others  whose  speech  is 
less  than  their  deeds.  The  latter  have  a  reserved  force  which  their  words  do  not 
measure,  but  is  always  made  to  tell  when  the  hour  of  effort  and  trial  comes. 
What  Mr.  Blaine  has  accomplished,  when  brought  to  the  test,  shows  that  he  does 
not  belong  to  the  former  class.  He  was  early  in  life  a  political  student  of  re 
markable  insight  and  application,  then  an  able  and  popular  journalist  with  rare 
opportunities  for  political  culture  and  experience,  repeatedly  the  Speaker  of  the 
Maine  House  of  Representatives,  fourteen  years  a  member  of  Congress,  for  six 
years  the  Speaker  of  the  National  House  of  Representatives,  with  a  success 
equalled  by  none  since  Henry  Clay,  sixty  years  ago,  occupied  the  position,  and 
not  surpassed  by  the  great  Kentuckian  himself.  The  scope,  the  power,  the  suc 
cess  of  Mr.  Blame's  present  leadership  of  the  Republican  minority  the  country 
new  scans  for  itself,  and  can  make  up  its  opinion.  With  a  remarkable  memory 
of  all  salient  facts  in  the  political  history  of  the  country,  with  a  know^dge  of 
the  men  in  different  sections  of  the  Union  surpassed  by  no  living  American,  with 
a  personal  magnetism  rarely  equalled,  he  gathers  men  quickly  around  him  and 
holds  them  with  a  great  tenacity.  His  administrative  qualities  are  of  the  highest 
order.  With  an  astonishing  capacity  for  work,  all  his  powers  under  thorough 
discipline,  with  a  complete  mastery  of  all  necessary  details,  few  men  can  accom 
plish  so  much.  A  born  leader  of  men,  buoyant,  resolute,  indefatigable,  he  always 
proves  equal  to  what  is  expected  of  him.  If  chosen  President,  his  administration 
would  be  one  of  the  most  able  and  successful  in  the  history  of  the  government. 
His  would  prove  a  practical,  comprehensive,  sagacious  statesmanship,  thus  show 
ing  how  utterly  mistaken  have  been  the  comments  of  a  special  cla>s  of  critics, 
that  he  is  a  consummate  master  of  political  tactics,  an  able  parliamentarian,  but 
no  statesman.  Fortunate  will  it  be  for  the  country  and  for  the  Republican  party 
if  he  becomes  the  next  national  executive. 

The  admiration  felt  for  Mr.  Blaine  by  the  multitude  is  of  a 


HON.    JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  363 

passionate  character — a  remarkable  fact  when  it  is  remembered 
that  this  feeling  is  strongest  precisely  in  that  section  of  the 
people  to  which  we  have  been  taught  to  look  for  the  truest 
exemplars  of  the  homely  and  uncorrupted  virtues  of  American 
citizenship.  He  is  emphatically  the  candidate  of  the  people. 
A  second  reason  for  Mr.  Elaine's  great  popularity  is  to  be 
found  in  his  vitality.  He  is  alive  as  is  no  other  man  who  has 
been  named  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States ;  he  is 
alive  from  the  crown  of  his  head  to  the  sole  of  his  feet,  and 
wherever  he  goes  there  is  sure  to  be  activity.  He  keeps  the 
most  indifferent  spectator  on  the  watch  and  gives  zest  and  color 
to  life. 

If  Mr,  Elaine  is  elected,  he  will  give  the  country  a  live  ad 
ministration,  as  was  that  of  Andrew  Jackson ;  he  will  centre 
the  public  attention  on  his  doings  and  lift  public  life  out  of 
the  common  place.  The  timid  and  the  foolish  say  that  he  will 
involve  us  in  a  war,  or  at  least  will  keep  us  in  hot  water  with 
every  power  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Nothing  is  more 
improbable.  The  President's  power  is  much  too  limited  for 
this.  Mr.  Elaine  at  heart  is  a  conservative.  People  who  are 
ready  to  assert  themselves  never  have  quarrels.  The  school 
boy  who  is  ready  to  fight  at  the  first  word  rarely  has  that  first 
word  offered  him.  But  he  would  certainly  keep  the  Old  World 
awake  to  the  fact  that  there  is  a  country  called  the  United  States 
as  it  has  not  been  since  the  treaty  of  Washington  was  signed. 
He  will  settle  several  serious  questions  of  international  impor 
tance,  and  he  will  settle  them  in  a  somewhat  different  fashion 
from  that  taken  by  the  Administration  he  will  succeed.  This 
will  be  a  great  gain  to  the  world,  as  it  would  to  the  United 
States. 

His  foreign  policy  justifies  this  thought.  He  has  defined 
the  intent  of  the  foreign  policy  of  President  Garfield's  Admin- 

22 


364  HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

istration  to  be — first,  to  bring  about  peace  and  prevent  futun 
wars  in  North  and  South  America ;  second,  to  cultivate  sucl 
friendly  commercial  relations  with  all  American  countries  a; 
would  lead  to  a  large  increase  in  the  export  trade  of  the  Unitec 
States  by  supplying  those  fabrics  in  which  we  are  abundantl) 
able  to  compete  with  the  manufacturing  nations  of  Europe 
It  was  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  peace  on  the  Westen 
Hemisphere  that  it  was  determined  to  invite  all  the  independen 
governments  of  North  and  South  America  to  meet  in  a  peace 
conference  at  Washington  on  March  15,  1882.  The  projeci 
met  with  cordial  approval  in  South  America,  and,  had  it  beer 
carried  out,  would  have  raised  the  standard  of  civilization,  anc 
possibly,  by  opening  South  American  markets  to  our  manu 
factures,  would  have  wiped  out  $120,000,000  balance  of  tradt 
which  Spanish  America  brings  against  us  every  year.  The 
invitations  to  this  important  conference  were  subsequently 
sent  out  by  President  Arthur,  but  in  a  short  time  they  were 
recalled  after  some  of  the  countries  had  actually  acceptcc 
them.  It  was  to  pave  the  way  toward  a  peace  conference  thai 
William  Henry  Trescott  and  Walker  Blairie  were  sent  as  spe 
cial  envoys  to  Peru  and  Bolivia  upon  the  appeal  of  Peru,  and, 
under  instructions  approved  by  President  Arthur  in  the  hope 
of  obtaining  an  amicable  settlement  of  the  differences  between 
the  belligerents.  Secretary  Elaine's  instructions  to  General 
Hurlbut,  United  States  Minister  to  Peru,  specially  cautioned 
the  minister  against  committing  his  government  to  any  line 
of  action  in  regard  to  the  Cochet  and  Landreau  claims  against 
the  Peruvian  Government  by  the  citizens  of  this  country;  and 
again  he  wrote,  warning  Mr.  Hurlbut  against  lending  his  lega 
tion's  influence  to  the  Credit  Irrdustriel  of  France,  the  Peruvian 
Company  of  New  York,  or  any  other  schemes  for  reorganizing 
the  finances  of  Peru.  In  Secretary  Elaine's  correspondence 


HON.   JAMES    G.    ELAINE.  35 

with  Lord  Granville  in  the  early  summer  of  1881  he  set  forth 
the  position  of  the  United  States  as  holding  the  right  to  feel 
and  express  deep  interest  in  the  distressed  condition  of  Peru, 
with  which  this  country  had  maintained  cordial  relations  for 
many  years,  and  while  with  equal  friendliness  to  Chili,  the 
United  States  would  not  interpose  to  deprive  her  of  fair  ad 
vantages  of  military  success,  this  country  could  not  regard 
with  unconcern  the  destruction  of  Peruvian  nationality — a 
movement  which  threatened  the  liberal  civilization  of  all 
America. 

Of  equal  importance  with  the  cultivation  of  friendly  and 
commercial  relations  with  the  South  American  countries  was 
and  still  is  the  necessity  of  taking  some  steps  toward  protect 
ing  the  interests  of  the  United  States  involved  in  the  construc 
tion  of  a  canal  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  In  Secretary 
Elaine's  instructions  to  Mr.  James  Russell  Lowell,  minister  to 
England,  is  the  following  summary  of  the  changes  in  the 
Clayton-Bulwer  treaty  of  1850  necessary  to  meet  the  views  of 
the  United  States  government : 

"First.  Every  part  of  the  treaty  which  forbids  the  United 
States  fortifying  the  canal  and  holding  the  political  control  of 
it  in  conjunction  with  the  country  in  which  it  is  located  to  be 
cancelled. 

"Second.  Every  part  of  the  treaty  in  which  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States  agree  to  make  no  acquisition  of  territory 
in  Central  America  to  remain  in  full  force." 

The  admirable  and  forcible  chain  of  reasoning  by  which 
Mr.  Blaine  led  to  these  conclusions  forced  the  English  news 
papers  to  admit  that  he  had  made  out  a  good  case  upon  Brit 
ish  precedents,  and  that  the  right  of  the  United  States  to  con 
trol  the  Panama  Canal  was  stronger  and  the  necessity  of  such 
control  greater  than  the  right  and  necessity  of  England  to 


366  HON.   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

control  the  Suez  Canal.    Wherein  is  this  policy  wrong,  unwise 
or  mischievous  ? 

Mr.  Elaine  is  in  favor  of  civil  service  reform.  In  discussing 
this  topic  before  a  public  audience  at  Winterport,  Me.,  in 
1882,  he  said: 

There  are  many  reforms  which  I  should  be  glad  to  see,  and  which  I  have  for 
many  years  believed  in.  I  should  be  glad  to  see  every  federal  officer,  however 
honorable,  appointed  for  a  specific  period,  during  which  he  could  not  be  removed 
except  for  cause,  which  cause  should  be  specified,  proved,  and  made  matter  of 
record.  I  should  be  glad  also  to  see  the  tenure  of  all  subordinate  officers  made 
longer  at  least  than  a  Presidential  term,  so  that  the  incoming  of  a  new  adminis 
tration  should  not  be  harassed,  annoyed,  crippled  and  injured  by  the  distribution 
of  offices.  Seven  years  would  be  a  good  length  of  term,  and  would  effect  the 
desired  end.  It  would  break  joints  with  the  Presidential  term,  and  would  avoid 
the  evil  of  which  I  have  spoken.  There  are  a  great  many  honest  advocates  of 
reform  in  the  civil  service  who  believe  in  a  life-tenure  for  all  subordinate  officials. 
I  have  never  been  able  to  persuade  myself  that  this  would  be  wise,  even  if  prac 
ticable,  and  I  am  quite  sure  that  it  is  not  practicable.  Life-tenure  means  a  pen 
sion  in  the  end  to  the  incumbent,  and  with  a  hundred  thousand  office-holders 
this  would  impose  an  intolerable  burden  on  the  taxpayer.  It  would  create  what 
might  be  termed  a  privileged  class,  which  is  always  sure  in  the  end  to  prove  un 
popular  and  odious  in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  Nor  do  I  believe  it  was  ever  de 
monstrated  that  life-tenure  insures  the  best,  most  faithful  and  most  honorable 
service.  It  may  often  be  wise  to  retain  a  man  in  office  for  all  the  years  of  his 
active  life,  but  I  believe  he  will  be  a  better  officer  if  his  commission  shall  expire 
at  stated  periods  and  his  efficiency  shall  be  his  claim  of  reappoinlment  and  con 
tinuance  in  our  administration  of  State  and  county  office.  The  gentleman  who 
has  practical  charge  of  the  treasury  of  Maine  has  been  in  his  position  for  forty- 
one  years,  his  appointment  being  annually  renewed  in  recognition  of  his  ability 
and  fidelity.  Even  with  his  strict  integrity,  I  do  not  doubt  that  he  has  been  a 
more  careful  officer  than  if  he  had  been  originally  appointed  for  life,  or  a  term 
of  forty-one  years.  In  the  county  of  my  residence  we  elected  the  same  man 
annually  for  thirty-three  years.  He  was  a  better  officer  than  though  he  had  been 
origin  illy  chosen  to  serve  for  the  full  generation  during  which  he  honorably  dis 
charged  eveiy  duty.  I  believe,  therefore,  from  such  instances  as  these,  and  many 
others  which  I  could  name,  that  it  will  prove  a  far  easier  task  to  educate  public 
opinion  to  a  renewal  of  appointment  to  efficient  and  valuable  officers,  with  suffi 
cient  salaries  to  enable  them  to  lay  by  something  for  a  rainy  day,  than  it  will  be 
to  get  popular  consent  to  life-tenures,  with  pensions  to  a  large  civil  list,  con 
stantly  growing  in  numbers  and  amount,  and  constantly  provoking  opposition  in 
the  popular  mind. 

The  election  takes  place  on  the  4th  of  next  November,  and 
at  the  polls  then  the  great  question  will  come  up  for  settle- 


HON.    JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  367 

ment.  Viewing  it  now  at  this  distance,  and  remembering  all 
that  precedes  this,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  predicting  for  the 
nominees  of  the  Republican  party  a  most  substantial  victory, 
and  for  the  country  four  years  of  peace  and  prosperity  in  the 
administration  of  the  most  popular  American  that  ever  lifted 
his  voice  in  behalf  of  the  American  people! 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  PRESIDENTS — THE  MEN  WHO  HAVE  OCCUPIED  THE  WHITE  HOUSE — 
GEORGE  WASHINGTON — OLD  HICKORY — MARTIN  VAN  BUREN — GARFIELD 
AND  ARTHUR. 

NO  volume  that  proposes  to  deal  with  the  Presidency 
could  be  said  to  half  cover  its  subject  that  did  not 
present  to  its  readers  some  view  retrospective  or  statistical  of 
the  men  who  have  graced  the  chair  of  Washington ;  and  re 
membering  this  desire  on  the  part  of  our  readers,  I  present 
here  a  brief  sketch  of  each  of  the  Presidents  in  turn,  from  the 
illustrious  "  Father  of  his  Country "  down  to  the  man  who 
holds  the  office  now,  and  who,  on  the  fourth  of  March  next, 
gives  way  in  favor  of  James  G.  Blaine. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  1789-1797. 

George  Washington,  the  illustrious  founder  of  American 
independence,  was  born  February  22,  1732,  in  county  of 
Fairfax,  in  Virginia.  At  the  early  age  of  twenty-one  he  was 
first  employed  officially  by  General  Dinwiddie  in  remonstrat 
ing  with  the  French  commander  on  the  Ohio,  for  the  infrac 
tion  of  treaty  between  the  two  nations.  After  the  unfortunate 
expedition  of  General  Braddock,  whom  he  served  as  aide-de 
camp,  in  which  he  displayed  great  military  talent,  he  re 
tired  from  the  service ;  but,  while  engaged  in  agriculture,  he 
was  elected  to  a  seat  in  the  first  Continental  Congress.  At 

the  commencement  of  the  Revolutionary  war  he  was  chosen, 
(368) 


FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS.  369 

as  the  fittest  man,  for  the  post  of  commander-in-chief  of  the 
provincial  forces.  From  the  moment  of  taking  upon  himself 
this  important  office,  in  June,  1775,  he  employed  the  great 
powers  of  his  mind  to  his  favorite  object,  and  by  his  prudence, 
his  valor  and  presence  of  mind,  he  deserved  and  obtained  the 
confidence  and  gratitude  of  his  country,  and  finally  triumphed 
over  all  opposition.  The  record  of  his  services  is  the  history 
of  the  whole  war.  He  joined  the  army  at  Cambridge  in  1775. 
The  battle  of  Long  Island  was  fought  on  the  27th  of  August, 
and  the  battle  of  White  Plains  on  the  28th  of  October,  1776. 
On  the  25th  of  December  he  crossed  the  Delaware,  and  soon 
gained  the  victories  of  Trenton  and  Princeton.  The  battle  of 
Brandy  wine  was  fought  on  September  II,  1777;  of  German- 
town,  October  4;  of  Monmouth,  February  28,  1778.  In 
1779  and  1780  he  continued  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  and 
closed  the  military  operations  of  the  war  by  the  capture  of 
Cornwallis,  at  Yorktown,  in  1781.  When  the  independence 
of  this  country  was  established  by  the  treaty  of  peace,  Wash 
ington  resigned  his  high  office  to  the  Congress,  and  retired 
into  private  life.  On  the  organization  of  the  government  he 
was  called  upon,  in  1789,  to  be  the  first  President  of  the 
States  which  he  had  preserved  and  established.  It  was  a 
period  of  great  difficulty  and  danger.  Washington,  by  his 
prudence  and  firmness,  subdued  insurrection,  and  silenced  dis 
content.  He  completed,  in  1795,  the  business  of  his  office  by 
signing  a  commercial  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  and  then 
voluntarily  resigned  his  power  at  a  moment  when  all  hands 
and  all  hearts  were  united  again  to  confer  upon  him  the  sover 
eignty  of  the  country.  Restored  to  the  peaceful  retirement 
of  Mount  Vernon,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  pursuits  of  agri 
culture.  He  died,  after  a  short  illness,  on  the  I4th  day  or" 
December,  1799.  As  every  American  knows,  Washington 


37°  FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS. 

sprang  from  among  the  people ;  he  only  claimed  command 
and  authority  as  long  as  they  were  willing  to  concede  them ; 
he  ruled  only  because  .he  deserved  to  rule,  and  history 
mentions  no  man  of  equal  ability  who  possessed  that  deter 
mination  to  do  his  whole  duty  to  God,  to  man,  and  to  his 
country,  which  ever  characterized  the  conduct  of  the  PATER 
PATRICE. 

JOHN  ADAMS,  1797-1801. 

Justice  has  scarcely  been  rendered  to  the  memory  of  the 
second  President  of  the  United  States.  He  possessed  more 
of  that  enthusiasm  which  filled  the  breast  of  Luther  than 
any  other  Revolutionary  leader,  and  one  of  the  most  able  men 
America  has  produced ;  he  was  the  colossus  who  carried 
through  that  bold  Declaration,  and  he  sunk  into  the  arms  of 
death  with  "  Independence  forever  "  upon  his  lips. 

He  was  born  at  Braintree,  October  19,  1735.  He  was  edu 
cated  in  the  best  schools,  and  afterwards  sent  to  Cambridge 
College.  He  studied  law,  and  in  1761  was  admitted  a  barris- 
ter-at-law,  and  commenced  practice.  The  attempts  of  Eng 
land  to  coerce  the  colonies  into  obedience,  which  had  exas 
perated  them  into  most  bitter  indignation  and  hatred,  were 
opposed  by  Mr.  Adams  from  the  outset,  and  on  all  the  ques 
tions  which  arose  between  the  two  countries,  he  was  on  the 
side  of  the  wronged  and  oppressed.  Yet  his  was  not  a  mere 
partisan  zeal,  but  the  just  excitement  of  one  who  thought  and 
felt  earnestly  and  deeply.  When,  therefore,  the  resistance  of 
the  colonists  broke  out  into  open  war,  Adams. was  prepared 
to  take  an  intelligent  and  an  active  part  in  the  defence.  In 
1769  he  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  committee,  appointed 
by  the  town  of  Boston,  to  draw  up  instructions  to  its  repre 
sentatives  to  resist  British  encroachments,  at  the  very  time  the 
town  was  invested  by  an  armed  force  both  by  sea  and  by 


FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS.  3/1 

land.  In  1770  he  was  sent  to  the  legislature,  where  he  took  a 
prominent  part  in  every  important  measure.  In  1774  he  was 
one  of  the  committee  who  prepared  the  celebrated  resolutions 
on  the  Boston  Port  Bill.  The  same  year  he  was  elected  to 
the  first  Continental  Congress,  held  in  Philadelphia.  From 
the  outset  he  announced  himself  the  friend  of  independence, 
and  when,  therefore,  in  1775,  the  first  blood  was  shed  at  Lex 
ington  and  Concord,  he  was  ready  for  war,  and  suggested  the 
name  of  George  Washington  as  commander-in-chief.  In 
1776  he  was  appointed,  with  Jefferson,  Franklin,  Sherman  and 
Livingston,  on  the  committee  which  reported  the  immortal 
"  Declaration  of  Independence."  He  was  sent  as  commis 
sioner  to  France  and  England,  and  was  appointed,  in  1785, 
the  first  minister  to  England.  After  his  return  he  was  elected 
first  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  and  re-elected  in 
1793.  In  1797  he  was  elected  President.  His  administration 
was  a  vigorous  and  important  one,  but  not  without  embarrass 
ments  and  opposition.  In  1801  he  was  defeated  by  Jefferson, 
and  retired  to  his  farm  at  Quincy.  He  died  July  4,  1826. 
He  was  a  man  of  intrepid  and  honest  character,  great  indus 
try,  and  high  order  of  talent,  and  the  most  elevated  Christian 
sentiments;  a  most  immaculate  patriot;  a  skillful  diplomatist; 
a  sound  statesman,  and  a  magnificent  orator. 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  '1801-1809. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  the  United  States  most  influential  states 
man,  was  a  native  of  Shadwell,  in  Virginia,  where  he  was  born 
1743,  and  was  brought  up  to  the  bar.  In  1769  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  provincial  legislature,  and  in  1775  he  entered 
Congress,  and  took  a  conspicuous  and  very  decided  part  in 
opposition  to  the  measures  which  England  had  adopted 
towards  her  American  colonies,  and  it  was  he  who  drew  up 


37-  FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS. 

the  famous  Declaration  of  Independence.  In  1776  he  retired 
from  Congress,  and  was  chosen  Governor  of  Virginia  for  two 
years.  He  was  sent  as  envoy  to  Paris  in  1785,  and  then  to 
London.  He  returned  to  Paris,  where  he  remained  till  1789, 
zealously  pursuing  whatever  was  beneficiaPto  his  country. 
He  subsequently  filled  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State  under 
Washington  until  1793,  when  he  resigned  and  lived  in  retire 
ment  four  years.  He  was  then  elected  Vice-President,  and  in 
iSoi  chosen  President.  At  the  expiration  of  eight  years  he 
again  retired  to  private  life,  and  on  the  4th  of  July,  1826,  he 
died.  He  was  the  acknowledged  head  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  an  acute  politician,  eloquent  and  persuasive  in  con 
versation.  He  ever  retained  his  belief  in  the  capability  of 
man  for  self-government,  and  firmly  opposed  those  statesmen 
who  were  disposed  to  follow  in  the  beaten  path,  which  the 
monarchies  and  oligarchies  of  the  old  world  had  so  long  pur 
sued.  His  policy  triumphed  over  that  of  his  opponents,  and 
at  this  day  parties  do  not  take  sides  for  or  against  it,  but  con 
tend,  like  children,  as  to  their  legitimate  descent  from  the 
"  apostle  of  democracy." 

JAMES  MADISON,  1809-1817. 

James  Madison,  one  of  the  fathers  of  the  Revolution,  and 
one  of  the  most  conspicuous  of  those  who  framed  the  Con 
stitution  and  secured  its  ratification,  was  born  March  16,  1751, 
in  Prince  George  county,  Va. ;  was  educated  at  Princeton  Col 
lege,  and  studied  law  in  his  native  State.  In  1776  he  was 
chosen  a  member  of  the  Convention  which  formed  the  Con 
stitution  of  Virginia,  and  of  the  State  Legislature,  by  which  he 
was  appointed  to  the  executive  council.  He  was  a  delegate  to 
the  Continental  Congress  of  1780.  In  this  body  he  strongly 
opposed  the  issue  of  paper  money  by  the  States;  as  chairman 


PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS.  375 

of  the  committee  to  prepare  instructions  to  the  United  States 
foreign  ministers,  drew  up  an  able  paper  in  support  of  our 
territorial  claims  and  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  zealously  advocated  in  1783  the  establishment  of  a  system 
of  general  revenue.  Member  of  the  Convention  which  in 
1787  formed  the  United  States  Constitution,  taking  a  promi 
nent  part,  in  the  debates  and  supporting  it  in  a  series  of  able 
essays  in  the  Federalist and  also  in  the  Virginia  Convention  of 
1788.  Member  of  Congress  1789-97,  uniting  with  the  Repub 
licans  as  a  moderate  opponent  of  the  administration  of  Wash 
ington.  He  opposed  the  alien  and  sedition  laws  of  1798. 
Secretary  of  State  in  1801-9;  elected  President  in  1808;  and 
re-elected  in  1812.  On  taking  his  office,  March  4,  1809,  he 
found  the  United  States  involved  in  disputes  with  the  British 
government  upon  the  impressment  of  her  seamen,  the  search 
ing  of  her  vessels  for  deserters,  and  upon  commercial  re 
strictions  by  orders  in  council.  Non-intercourse  was  decreed 
in  May,  1810,  and  war  was  declared  June  1 8,  1812.  Canada 
was  invaded;  Washington  was  captured  and  the  capital  burned 
in  Aug.,  1814;  and  Jan.  8,  1815,  Jackson  achieved  a  splendid 
victory  at  New  Orleans.  A  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at 
Ghent,  Dec.  24,  1814;  but  the  right  of  search  was  not  relin 
quished.  After  his  retirement  he  passed  his  days  on  his  farm  at 
Montpelier. 

JAMES  MONROE,  1817-1825. 

James  Monroe  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1759,  and  was  edu 
cated  in  William  and  Mary  College.  At  eighteen  he  joined 
the  patriot  army  as  a  cadet ;  was  engaged  at  the  battles  of 
Harlem  and  White  Plains  ;  and  at  Trenton  rose  through  the 
rank  of  lieutenant  to  that  of  captain.  He  was  present  at  the 
battles  of  Brandywine,  Germantown  and  Monmouth.  Resum 
ing  the  study  of  the  law  he  entered  the  office  of  Mr.  Jefferson, 


3/6  FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS. 

and,  after  being  a  member  of  the  assembly  of  Virginia  and  the 
council,  he  was  elected,  in  1783,  a  member  of  the  old  Con 
gress.  In  1790  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  in  1794  went  as  minister  plenipotentiary  to 
France,  and  in  1799  was  appointed  Governor  of  Virginia.  In 
1803  he  was  appointed  minister  extraordinary  to  France,  and 
was  a  party  to  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  in  the  same  year 
minister  to  London,  and  in  the  next  minister  to  Spain.  In  1806 
he  was  again  appointed,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Wm.  Pink- 
ney,  minister  to  London.  He  was  subsequently  Governor  of 
Virginia;  in  1811  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State,  and  con 
tinued  to  exercise  the  duties  of  this  department,  and  for  some 
time  those  of  the  department  of  war  till  1817.  In  that  year 
he  was  chosen  President  of  the  Union,  and  in  1821  was  re- 
elected  by  a  unanimous  vote,  with  the  single  exception  of  one 
vote  in  New  Hampshire.  His  administration  was  energetic, 
harmonious  and  prosperous  ;  the  army  and  navy  were  strength 
ened  ;  surveys  and  plans  of  fortifications  were  made ;  the  ces 
sion  of  Florida  from  Spain  was  obtained ;  the  independent 
States  of  South  America  were  recognized ;  and  the  bold  de 
claration,  known  as  the  "  Monroe  Doctrine,"  was  made  to  the 
world — that  European  interference  in  respect  to  American 
States  would  not  be  tolerated.  Vigorous  efforts  were  made 
to  suppress  the  slave  trade;  pensions  for  the  Revolutionary 
soldiers  were  voted ;  and  an  acknowledgment  was  made  of 
the  great  services  of  Lafayette.  He  died  in  New  York  on 

July  4,  1831. 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS,  1825-1829. 

John  Quincy  Adams,  emphatically  a  child  of  the  Revolu 
tion,  was  born  and  educated  amid  its  exciting  scenes.  He 
first  saw  the  light  July  11,  1767,  at  Quincy.  The  position 
of  his  father  gave  him  great  advantages  of  education, 


PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS.  379 

which  he  diligently  employed.  He  was  abroad  with  his 
father  before  1780.  He  studied  law  and  practised  at  Boston, 
obtaining  distinction  as  a  political  writer.  From  1794  to 
1801  he  was  successively  minister  to  Holland,  England  and 
Prussia.  In  1802  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  Massachu 
setts,  and  in  1803  to  the  "Senate  of  the  United  States.  In 
1806  he  was  appointed  professor  of  rhetoric  in  Harvard.  Min 
ister  to  Russia  in  1809  his  influence  at  that  court  induced  its 
offers  of  intervention  which  culminated  in  the  treaty  of  peace 
between  England  and  the  United  States.  He  was  one  of  the 
commissioners  to  negotiate  that  treaty  at  Ghent  in  1814.  From 
1817  to  1825  he  was  Secretary  of  State  to  President  Monroe, 
whom  he  succeeded  as  President  in  1825,  being  chosen  by  the 
House  of  Representatives,  no  choice  having  been  made  by  the 
people.  In  1829  he  retired  to  private  life,  but  in  1831  was  sent 
to  Congress,  where  he  was  continued  by  successive  re-elections 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  suddenly  in  the  capitol.  Mr. 
Adams'  administration  favored  the  application  of  all  the  super 
fluous  revenues  of  the  country  to  internal  improvements.  He 
looked  upon  slavery  as  an  unmitigated  curse.  His  voice  was 
heard  on  nearly  every  important  question  before  the  House. 
When  more  than  fourscore  he  was  yet  "  the  old  man  elo 
quent."  Independent,  manly  and  patriotic,  he  never  swerved 
from  what  he  believed  to  be  the  path  of  duty,  leaving  behind 
him  a  high  reputation  for  purity  and  disinterestedness. 

ANDREW  JACKSON,  1829-1837. 

Andrew  Jackson,  the  hero  of  the  Creek  war  and  of  New 
Orleans,  the  idol  of  the  people,  was  a  native  of  South  Caro 
lina,  born  in  1767.  At  fourteen  he  joined  the  Revolutionary 
army.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  became  a  law  student,  and 
was  thus  enabled  to  discharge  efficiently  some  high  legal 


380  FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS. 

offices  in  Tennessee,  to  which  he  was  subsequently  appointed. 
On  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  with  England  in  1812  he  took 
vigorous  measures  for  the  defence  of  the  menaced  territory; 
in  1 814  he  was  appointed  major-general;  and  among  other 
exploits,  which  raised  him  to  the  highest  point  of  popularity, 
he  gained  the  decisive  victory  over  the  English,  Jan.  8,  1815, 
at  New  Orleans,  which  put  an  end  to  the  war.  The  same 
success  attended  his  arms  against  the  Creek  tribes,  whom  he 
repeatedly  subdued.  In  1821  he  was  appointed  Governor  of 
Florida ;  and  his  gallant  deeds  being  still  fresh  in  his  coun 
trymen's  recollection,  he  was  brought  forward  by  the  Demo 
cratic  party  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  elected  in  1 829, 
and  returned  in  1833.  His  period  of  office  is  chiefly  remark 
able  for  the  extension  of  Democratic  principles  which  took 
place  during  it.  He  obtained  from  France  the  payment  of  an 
indemnity  of  twenty-five  millions  of  francs  for  injuries  done  to 
the  commerce  of  the  United  States  during  the  empire.  His 
refusal  to  renew  the  bank  charter  in  1833  led  to  one  of  the 
most  violent  financial  struggles  on  record.  General  Jackson 
was  endowed  with  inflexible  will,  an  ardent -patriotism,  and 
was  always  the  idol  of  the  people.  He  died  in  1845. 

MARTIN  VAN  BUREN,  1837-1841. 

Martin  Van  Buren  was  the  first  of  the  Presidents  born  after 
the  struggle  for  independence.  His  success  was  due  to  his 
abilities  as  lawyer,  politician  and  statesman.  He  was  born  at 
Kinderhook,  N.  Y.,  December  5.,  1782;  died  there  July  24, 
1862.  He  enjoyed  only  a  moderate  education,  and  in  1796 
began  the  study  of  law,  which  he  continued  until  1803,  when 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  had  meanwhile  taken  an 
active  part  in  politics,  and  in  1808  was  appointed  Surrogate 
of  Columbia  County.  In  1812  he  was  elected  to  the  State 


FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS.  381 

Senate.  He  continued  a  member  of  that  body  until  1820, 
having  been,  during  that  period,  a  supporter  of  the  war  and 
the  canal  project.  A  portion  of  this  time  he  also  held  the 
office  of  Attorney-General.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Constitu 
tional  Convention  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  1821,  and  in 
February  of  the  same  year  he  was  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate,  and  re-elected  in  1827,  serving  until  1829. 
The  following  year  the  Gubernatorial  Chair  of  the  State  of 
New  York  became  vacant  by  the  death  of  Governor  Clinton, 
and  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  selected  as  the  candidate  for  that 
office  by  the  Democratic  party  of  the  State.  He  was  elected, 
but  his  career  as  Governor  was  brief,  for  he  soon  afterwards 
accepted  from  President  Jackson  the  office  of  Secretary  of 
State.  He  received  a  large  majority  of  the  electoral  votes  for 
Vice-President  in  1832,  which  office  he  continued  to  fill  during 
President  Jackson's  term.  In  1835  he  was  unanimously  nom 
inated  for  the  office  of  President  by  the  Democratic  Conven 
tion,  and  in  November,  1836,  was  elected.  Great  commercial 
distress  prevailed  at  the  time  of  his  inauguration,  and  two 
months  afterwards  the  banks  suspended  specie  payments. 
Financial  questions  and  measures  were  the  subjects  of  interest 
during  his  administration.  Its  leading  measure  was  the  inde 
pendent  treasury  system,  recommended  in  his  first  message  to 
Congress  at  the  extra  session  of  May,  1837,  and  persistently 
urged  by  him  until  it  became  a  law  on  June  30,  1840.  The 
presidential  canvass  for  the  successorship  was  conducted  with 
unprecedented  activity  and  excitement.  The  Whig  candidate 
was  General  William  H.  Harrison ;  and  Mr.  Van  Buren 
received  the  unbroken  support  of  his  party  in  the  Democratic 
Convention  and  at  the  polls.  Mr.  Van  Buren  received  but 
60  electoral  votes,  against  234  received  by  his  successful  com 
petitor.  In  1848  he  accepted  the  presidential  nomination 


382 


FACTS    ABOUT    OUR    PRESIDENTS. 


from  the  Free-soil  party,  and  in  that  way  divided  the  Demo 
cratic  party  in  New  York,  and  contributed  to  the  election  of 
General  Taylor,  the  Whig  candidate.  The  remainder  of  his 
life  he  passed  in  retirement  on  his  farm  at  Kinderhook. 

WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON,  1841. 

William  Henry  Harrison,  recommended  to  his  countrymen 
by  a  long  train  of  public  services  chiefly  in  the  field,  was  born 
in  Virginia,  in  1773,  his  father  being  one  of  the  most  conspic 
uous  among  the  patriots  of  the  Revolution.  He  studied  for 
the  medical  profession  ;  but  participating  in  the  general  excite 
ment  which  prevailed  throughout  the  country  against  the  bar 
barous  mode  of  warfare  at  that  time  practiced  by  the  Indians 
on  the  Northwestern  frontiers,  he  joined  his  brethren  in  arms 
as  an  Ensign  in  the  United  States  Artillery  in  1791.  During 
the  years  1811,  1812,  and  1813,  General  Harrison  assembled 
a  body  of  militia  and  volunteers  and  marched  against  the 
Indians,  who,  under  Tecumseh,  had  created  serious  disturb 
ances  on  the  frontier.  The  most  signal  success  crowned  his 
efforts,  and  he  was  appointed  by  Mr.  Madison  to  negotiate 
with  those  enemies  against  whom  his  military  skill  had  been 
so  ably  directed.  In  1828  he  was  sent  as  United  States  Min 
ister  to  Colombia;  and  in  1840  he  was  elected  President. 
But  one  month  after  his  accession  he  was  seized  with  an  ill 
ness,  and  died  April  4,  1841. 

JOHN  TYLER,  1841-1845. 

John  Tyler,  the  successor  of  President  Harrison,  was  born 
in  Virginia  in  1790.  He  had  barely  attained  to  manhood 
when  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature.  Five  years 
afterwards  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  and  in  1826  to  the 


FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS.  383 

Gubernatorial  Chair  of  his  native  State.  Before  the  expiration 
of  the  term  of  his  office  he  was  chosen  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  where  he  officiated  as  President 
pto  tern,  of  that  body.  He  served  in  this  capacity  till  a  differ 
ence  of  opinion  having  arisen  between  General  Jackson  and 
himself,  he  resigned  his  seat  in  1836.  In  1840  he  was  selected 
by  the  Whig  party  as  their  candidate  for  Vice-President.  He 
was  elected  to  that  office  by  a  large  majority,  and  entered 
upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties  in  March,  1841,  when  the 
death  of  the  President,  General  Harrison,  shortly  after  raised 
him  to  the  Chief  Magistracy  of  the  Republic.  His  term  of 
office  expired  in  1845,  after  which  he  lived  in  retirement  in 
Virginia  until  early  in  1861,  when  he  reappeared  at  Washing 
ton  as  a  delegate  to  the  Peace  Congress,  of  which  body  he 
was  President.  A  few  weeks  later  he  became  a  member  of 
the  Virginia  Convention  which  passed  the  ordinance  of  seces 
sion,  and  subsequently  of  the  Confederate  Congress.  He  died 
in  Richmond,  January  17,  1862.  „ 

JAMES  KNOX  POLK,  1845-1849. 

James  Knox  Polk  was  the  unflinching  supporter  of  the 
^  olicy  inaugurated  by  General  Jackson  and  earned  out  by 
Van  Buren.  His  native  place  was  in  North  Carolina,  where 
he  first  saw  light  in  1795.  He  became  a  member  of  the  bar 
in  Tennessee  in  1820,  and  soon  took  a  first  rank  among  his 
colleagues.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  Congress  in  1825, 
where  he  was  distinguished  for  his  firmness  and  industry,  and 
where  he  was  chosen  Speaker  for  three  several  terms.  His 
opinions  coincided  with  those  of  the  Democratic  party,  by 
which  in  1844  he  was  chosen  President.  It  was  during  his 
administration  that  the  annexation  of  Texas  was  effected,  the 
23 


384  FACTS   ABOUT   OUR    PRESIDENTS. 

war  against  Mexico  successfully  terminated,  and  the  general 
Democratic  policy  maintained.     He  died  in  1840. 

ZACHARY  TAYLOR,  18491 

Zachary  Taylor  was  one  who,  previous  to  his  election  to 
the  Presidency,  never  held  a  civil  office.  He  was  born  in 
Virginia,  in  1786.  His  father,  who  had  fought  at  the  side  of 
Washington  during  all  the  war  of  independence,  at  its  con 
clusion  settled  in  Kentucky,  and  conducted  his  family  to  their 
forest-home,  where  his  son,  amid  the  perils  of  savage  life, 
had  ample  opportunity  of  developing  those  military  qualities 
of  which  he  afterwards  gave  so  signal  a  proof.  At  the  out 
break  of  the  war  with  England,  in  1807,  he  hastened  to  join 
the  army,  and  was  appointed  to  guard  the  banks  of  the 
Wabash.  In  1812,  while  in  command  of  the  garrison  of 
Fort  Henderson,  consisting  only  of  fifty-two  men,  he  was 
suddenly  attacked  at  midnight  by  a  hostile  party,  who  suc 
ceeded  in  setting  fire  to  the  fort.  But  Taylor,  with  his  handful 
of  men,  extinguished  the  flames,  and  forced  the  enemy  to 
retreat.  For  this  exploit  he  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  major. 
In  the  war  against  the  Indians,  both  in  Florida  and  Arkansas, 
he  passed  successively  through  all  the  grades  of  his  profes 
sion,  till  he  reached  the  rank  of  general.  Nominated,  in  1846, 
to  the  command  of  a  corps  of  observation  on  the  frontiers  of 
Mexico,  an  attack  of  the  Mexicans  gave  him  an  opportunity 
of  crossing  the  Rio  Grande,  and  of  gaining  his  first  battle,  at 
Palo  Alto.  The  victories  of  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  Monterey 
and  Buena  Vista,  proved  him  at  once  a  valiant  soldier  and  an 
able  general,  and  marked  him  out  to  the  suffrages  of  his  coun 
trymen  for  the  Presidency.  Chosen  in  November,  1848,  he 
entered  on  his  high  office  March,  1849;  but  he  had  only  filled 
the  chair  for  sixteen  months  when  he  was  attacked  by  the 
cholera,  and  died  July,  1850. 


FACTS   ABOUT   OUR   PRESIDENTS.  385 

MlLLARD    FlLLMORE,     1850-1853. 

Millard  Fillmore  is  a  brilliant  illustration  of  one  grand 
result  of  our  free  institutions.  His  progress  from  the  factory 
to  the  Presidential  mansion  should  be  attentively  studied  by 
every  American  who  would  appreciate  the  full  value  of  our 
republican  form  of  government.  He  was  born  in  Cayuga 
county,  New  York  State,  January,  1800.  He  was  the  son  of 
a  farmer  in  humble  circumstances,  and  in  his  youth  enjoyed 
no  advantage  of  education.  Apprenticed  to  a  clothier,  and 
afterwards  to  a  wool-carder,  in  his  native  town,  he  bought  the 

o 

right  to  his  last  two  years  of  service,  and  entered  on  the 
study  of 'the  law.  In  1821  he  walked  to  Buffalo  almost  pen 
niless,  and  there  continued  his  legal  studies  till  he  was  ad 
mitted  to  the  court  of  common  pleas,  two  years  later,  and 
commenced  practice  at  Aurora,  Erie  county.  In  1827  he  was 
admitted  as  an  attorney,  and  in  1829  as  a  counsellor  in  the 
Supreme  Court;  and  in  1830  he  removed  to  Buffalo.  In  1829 
he  took  his  seat  in  the  Assembly  of  the  State  as  a  member 
from  Erie  county,  being  elected  by  the  anti-masonic  party. 
He  served  three  terms,  and  distinguished  himself  by  his  efforts 
for  abolishing  imprisonment  for  debt,  which  resulted  in  the 
passage  of  the  act.  In  1832  he  was  elected  to  the  lower  house 
of  Congress  as  an  anti-Jackson  candidate,  and  served  one 
term.  In  1836  he  was  re-elected  on  the  Whig  ticket,  and 
served  till  1842,  when  he  declined  a  renomination.  In  Con 
gress  he  supported  the  internal  improvement  and  protective 
tariff  policy  of  the  Whig  party.  He  supported  Mr.  Adams 
in  the  struggle  upon  the  question  of  the  reception  of  peti 
tions  for  the  abolition  of  slavery ;  opposed  the  annexation 
of  Texas  with  slavery ;  favored  the  abolition  of  the  slave 
trade  between  the  States,  and  of  slavery  in  the  District  of 
Columbia.  He  was  substantially  the  author  of  the  tariff  of 


386  FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS. 

1842.  He  then  resumed  his  profession  in  Buffalo;  was  in 
1847  elected  State  comptroller;  in  1848  was  nominated  and 
elected  by  the  Whigs  as  Vice-President,  and  remained  in  that 
position  until  the  death  of  President  Taylor,  July  9,  1850,  by 
which  he  was  elevated  to  the  Presidential  chair.  As  Vice- 
President  he  presided  during  the  controversy  on  the  "  Omnibus 
Bill  "  with  his  usual  impartiality.  During  his  Presidency,  the 
compromise  measures,  embracing  substantially  the  provisions 
of  Mr.  Clay's  bill,  were  passed.  His  administration  is  distin 
guished  by  the  expedition  of  Commodore  Perry  to  Japan, 
which  sailed  in  1852,  and  which  resulted  in  a  favorable  treaty 
with  that  country.  Opposed  to  intervention  in  the  affairs  of 
other  nations,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  denounce  the  suggested 
incorporation  of  Cuba  into  the  Union  as  impolitic  and  danger 
ous.  He  visited  Europe  in  1855-6.  In  1856  he  was  the 
candidate  of  the  American  party  for  the  Presidency,  but  was 
defeated.  He  died  in  1874. 

FRANKLIN  PIERCE,   1853-1857. 

Franklin  Pierce  sprung  from  a  family  well  known  in  the 
military  annals  of  the  republic.  He  was  born  in  Hills- 
borough,  N.  H.,  1804,  and  died  in  1869.  He  studied  law 
under  Levi  Woodbury;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1827,  and 
moved  to  Concord  in  1838.  He  was  member  of  Congress  in 
1833-7;  United  States  Senator  1837-42;  he  refused  the 
offices  of  Attorney-General  and  Secretary  of  War  tendered 
by  Mr.  Polk ;  vigorously  supported  the  annexation  of  Texas; 
was  made  Colonel  of  i6th  United  States  Infantry  after  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Mexican  war;  appointed  brigadier-general 
March,  1847;  commanded  a  large  reinforcement  for  the 
army  of  Gen.  Scott.  He  presided  over  the  New  Hampshire 
Constitutional  Convention  in  the  winter  of  1850-1.  At  the 


FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS. 

National  Democratic  Convention,  the  prominent  candidates 
for  the  Presidency  were  Cass,  Buchanan,  and  Douglas.  After 
thirty-five  ballots,  without  decisive  result,  the  name  of  Gen. 
Pierce  was  proposed,  and  he  was  nominated  on  the  forty-ninth 
ballot.  He  was  elected  for  the  term  of  1853-7.  ^n  his  inau 
gural  he  denounced  the  agitation  of  slavery.  His  admin 
istration  was  signalized  by  the  acquisition  from  Mexico  of 
Arizona ;  the  organization  of  the  Territories  of  Kansas  and 
Nebraska,  by  which  the  Missouri  Compromise  Act  was  re 
pealed,  and  slavery  permitted  to  enter  those  Territories — a 
measure  which  aroused  the  indignation  of  the  free  States,  and 
created  great  excitement;  and  by  the  troubles  in  Kansas, 
caused  by  the  efforts  to  make  of  it  a  slave  State,  contrary  to 
the  wishes  of  a  large  majority  of  its  citizens.  January  24, 
1856,  he  sent  a  message  to  Congress  representing  the  forma 
tion  of  a  free-State  government  in  Kansas  as  an  act  of  rebel 
lion.  During  the  Rebellion  he  was  strongly  in  sympathy  with 
the  Secessionists.  As  a  lawyer  he  acquired  an  extensive 
practice. 

JAMES  BUCHANAN,  1857-1861. 

This  President  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Pa.,  1791,  and 
died  near  Lancaster,  Pa.,  in  1868.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1812,  and  practised  at  Lancaster.  Beginning  as  a 
Federalist,  he  was  a  member  of  Congress  in  1821—31 ;  Min 
ister  to  Russia  in  1832-4;  United  States  Senator,  1834-45; 
Secretary  of  State  under  President  Polk  in  1845-9,  opposing 
the  anti-slavery  movement;  United  States  Minister  to  England, 
1853-6.  In  1856  he  was  Democratic  candidate  for  President, 
and  was  elected.  In  Congress  he  favored  a  tariff  merely  for 
revenue.  As  President  he  soon  announced  his  intention  to 
make  it  his  special  study  to  suppress  the  slavery  agitation,  and 
to  restore  the  harmony  between  the  States  that  had  been  dis- 


388  FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS. 

turbed  by  sectional  violence.  His  well-intentioned  efforts  ir 
this  direction  were  not  successful.  It  was  clear  long  before 
the  close  of  his  administration  that  a  severer  struggle  thai: 
the  country  had  yet  gone  through  was  fast  becoming  inevi 
table.  In  his  last  message,  December,  1860,  Buchanan  cas! 
on  the  Northern  people  the  blame  for  the  disruption  of  the 
Union,  then  imminent,  and  declared  that  the  Constitution  die 
not  delegate  to  Congress  or  to  the  Executive  power  to  coerce 
or  to  prevent  the  secession  of  a  State.  Most  of  the  slave 
States  seceded  in  the  winter  of  1860-1,  and  nearly  all  the 
forts,  arsenals,  and  custom-houses  within  their  limits  were 
seized  by  the  insurgents,  the  movements  of  the  disunionists 
to  found  and  fortify  a  Southern  Confederacy  being  facilitatec 
by  the  outgoing  administration.  He  withdrew  to  private  life 
March  3,  1861. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  1861-1865. 

Abraham  Lincoln's  ancestors  were  Quakers  from  Bucks 
county,  Pa.  His  parents  migrated  to  Kentucky,  where  theii 
son,  the  future  President,  was  born  in  1809,  and  then  removed 
to  Indiana,  where  Abraham  was  occupied  on  his  father's  farm 
Having  received  at  intervals  about  a  year's  schooling,  at  nine 
teen  he  made  a  trip  to  New  Orleans  as  a  hired  hand  on  a  flat- 
boat.  In  1830  he  accompanied  his  father  to  a  new  home  in 
Macon  county,  Illinois,  where  he  assisted  in  building  a  log- 
house  and  in  splitting  rails  to  fence  the  first  field — the  famous 
rails  from  which,  years  afterwards,  he  received  his  name  of 
"  the  rail-splitter."  After  working  in  a  country  store  he  was 
appointed  Postmaster  of  New  Salem  ;  began  to  study  law,  and 
engaged  in  surveying.  He  was  in  the  Legislature  from  1834 
-1841.  Licensed  to  practice  Li\v,  he  opened  an  office  at 
Springfield  and  rose  rapidly  to  distinction,  and  \vas  fur  many 


FACTS   ABOUT    OUR    1'RESl  DENTS.  389 

years  a  prominent  leader  of  the  Whig  party  in  Illinois.  Mem 
ber  of  Congress  from  1 847—49,  he  voted  for  the  reception  of 
anti-slavery  memorials,  the  expediency  of  abolishing  the 
slave-trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  to  prohibit  slavery  in 
the  territory  to  be  acquired  from  Mexico,  and  in  favor  of  the 
Wilmot  Proviso,  and  finally  submitted  a  plan  for  the  compen 
sation  of  sla^e-owners.  At  the  Republican  National  Conven 
tion  in  1856  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  nomination  to  the  Vice- 
Presidency.  At  the  Republican  National  Convention  held 
May  1 6,  1860,  he  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency,  and  in 
the  following  November  was  elected  to  that  station.  The 
secession  of  the  Southern  Slave  States  followed,  and  President 
Lincoln  was  inaugurated  under  the  most  gloomy  auspices. 
He  found  the  credit  of  the  government  greatly  impaired,  its 
navy  scattered,  its  war  material  in  the  hands  of  secessionists, 
who  had  seized  forts,  arsenals,  mints  and  vessels ;  its  small 
army  disbanded  and  sent  home  by  slow  and  devious  routes  as 
paroled  prisoners,  and  the  garrison  of  Fort  Sumter  nearly 
starved.  The  attempt  to  supply  the  garrison  was  frustrated 
by  the  rebel  batteries,  and  after  thirty-three  hours'  siege,  the 
fortress  was  surrendered  on  April  14.  On  the  I5th  a  call  was 
issued  for  75,000  men.  April  19,  the  ports  of  the  seceded 
States  were  declared  under  blockade,  Washington  was  strongly 
garrisoned,  and  Congress  met  in  extra  session  July  4.  His 
proclamation  of  emancipation  took  effect  January  I,  1863; 
re-elected  to  the  Presidency  in  1864.  Victory  crowned  the 
national  arms  during  the  succeeding  winter,  and  the  war  was 
substantially  closed,  when  the  assassin,  creeping  stealthily 
from  behind,  as  the  President  sat  in  his  box  in  the  theatre  on 
the  night  of  April  14,  1865,  inflicted  a  wound  with  a  pistol 
ball,  which  in  a  few  hours  ended  his  life.  This  event  created 
unparalleled  excitement.  Nine  of  the  persons  implicated 


390  FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS. 

suffered  condign  punishment;  while  the  funeral  honors  pai< 
to  the  deceased  Chief  Magistrate  surpassed  anything  of  th 
kind  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

ANDREW  JOHNSON,  1865-1869. 

Andrew  Johnson,  the  seventeenth  President  of  the  Unite 
States,  was  born  at  Raleigh,  N.  C,  in  1808.  At  the  age  of  te 
was  apprenticed  to  a  tailor  in  Raleigh.  Without  a  singl 
day's  schooling  he  taught  himself  to  read.  In  1826  h 
removed  with  his  mother  to  Tennessee,  where  he  married  an 
settled  in  Greenville.  His  wife  taught  him  to  write  an 
cipher.  He  was  elected  alderman,  mayor,  member  of  th 
Legislature,  and  finally  a  member  of  Congress  in  1843-5; 
Was  Governor  of  Tennessee  from  1853-1857,  and  Unite 
States  Senator  from  1857-63.  The  resolute  opponent  o 
secession,  he  was  unwearied  in  his  efforts  to  uphold  th 
national  cause  during  the  early  stages  of  the  rebellion,  and  o 
the  reoccupation  of  Nashville  in  1862,  he  was  appointed  b 
President  Lincoln  Military  Governor  of  Tennessee;  was  noir 
inated  Vice-President  by  the  Baltimore  Convention  of  1864 
and  on  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln,  succeeded  hir 
in  the  Presidential  chair.  At  first  he  displayed  a  spirit  o 
much  severity  to  the  rebels,  but  was  afterwards  so  favorabl 
to  them,  and  so  hostile  to  the  reconstruction  policy  of  Cor 
gress,  that  he  was  impeached  by  that  body ;  tried  and  ac 
quitted  May  26,  1868 — thirty-five  voting  him  guilty,  ninetee 
voting  not  guilty.  During  his  Presidency  the  submarine  tele 
graphic  cable  was  successfully  laid,  and  congratulatory  mes 
sages  were  exchanged  July  28,  1866. 

ULYSSES  S.  GRANT,  1869-1877. 
Few  careers  have  been  more  remarkable  than  U.  S.  Grant': 


FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS.  391 

He  was  born  of  poor  parents  in  Ohio,  April  27,  1822.  As 
soon  as  Ulysses  was  able  to  help  his  father  he  was  put  to 
work,  to  the  neglect  of  his  education.  Between  driving  a 
team  and  helping  his  father  in  the  tan-yard,  the  boy  grew  up 
into  the  broad-shouldered  youth,  and  fate  seemed  to  have  des 
tined  him  to  become  a  tanner,  nothing  more.  But  his  father 
succeeded  in  getting  him  an  appointment  to  West  Point,  which 
he  entered  in  1839.  Despite  his  numerous  and  terrible  disad 
vantages  in  preparation  he  graduated  honorably.  He  learned 
the  art  of  war  under  General  Scott  before  Vera  Cruz,  and  dis 
tinguished  himself  in  the  subsequent  battles  of  the  Mexican 
war.  Being  stationed  after  the  Mexican  war  in  Oregon,  then 
our  remotest  frontier,  he  resigned  in  1854  and  settled  on  a 
farm  near*  St.  Louis.  His  farming  did  not  prosper,  and  his 
chief  income  was  gained  by  hauling  wood.  He  gave  up  his 
farm  and  joined  his  father  in  the  leather  business.  At  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  Grant  offered  his  services  to  the  govern 
ment,  and  though  not  accepted  at  first,  was  appointed  in  1861 
Brigadier-General.  Placed  over  Southern  Missouri,  he  won  a 
victory  at  Fort  Donelson,  which  was  the  first  real  success  of 
the  war,  and  captured  Vicksburg,  for  which  he  was  made 
Major-General,  and  achieved  victories  in  the  Chattanooga 
valley.  Made  Lieuteuant-General,  he  assumes  general  com 
mand  of  the  forces  and  leads  his  forces  against  Richmond, 
and  by  its  capture  ends  the  war. 

Towards  the  close  of  Johnson's  term  the  Republicans  nomi 
nated  Grant  as  candidate  for  the  next  President  by  acclama 
tion ;  and  in  November,  1868,  he  was  elected  by  an  over 
whelming  majority.  His  duties  as  President  were,  in  the 
main,  those  that  belong  to  all  Presidents,  such  as  reporting  the 
state  of  the  country,  making  appointments,  receiving  foreign 
embassies,  and  suggesting  various  minor  reforms  in  the  gov- 


392  FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS. 

ernment,  etc.,  etc.  He  was  called  to  the  Presidency  in  a  most 
trying  time,  and  we  doubt  whether  there  was  another  man  in 
the  country  who  could  have  carried  us  through  that  period 
as  successfully  as  he  did. 

Tlu  great  Centennial  at  Philadelphia  will  ever  be  a  conspic 
uous  landmark  in  the  future  history  of  his  administration. 

Having  finished  his  eight  years  of  public  life  as  President, 
he  visited  the  Old  World  to  study  its  governments,  and  enjoy 
the  freedom  and  rest  which  travel  gives  to  the  overtasked 
mind.  In  all  countries  he  was  received  with  the  highest  dis 
tinctions  and  greatest  courtesies,  and  he  showed  himself  well 
able  to  support  the  dignity  of  the  American  Republic. 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES,  1877-1881. 

Rutheiford  B.  Hayes,  descended  from  New  England  ances 
try,  was  born  at  Delaware,  Ohio,  in  1822.  Brought  up  under 
the  care  of  a  refined  and  cultured  mother,  in  a  harmonious 
family,  he  enjoyed  the  best  educational  advantages;  graduated 
at  Kenyon  College  in  1842  ;  and,  studying  law  at  the  Harvard 
Law  School,  he  practised  in  Fremont,  Ohio,  afterwards  re 
moving  to  Cincinnati,  where  he  met  with  great  success.  His 
temperament,  his  self-education,  his  inherited  and  sturdily 
trained  character,  all  forbade  him  to  seek  office,  but  he  was 
soon  compelled  to  serve  as  City  Solicitor  for  several  years. 
\Yhen  the  war  began  he  accepted  the  majors  hip  of  the 
Twenty-third  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  Promoted  for  his 
bravery,  he  rose  to  the  command  of  a  division,  being  breveted 
major-general.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  resigned  his  com 
mission  and  retired  to  Cincinnati,  having  proved  himself  to  be 
an  honest  man,  a  faithful  soldier,  and  a  stainless  patriot. 

In  December,  1865,  he  entered  Congress,  where  he  at  once 
made  himself  quietly  felt  as  a  thorough  and  diligent  worker. 


PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


FACTS    ABOUT    OUR    PRESIDENTS.  395 

He  was  re-elected,  but  resigned  to  accept  the  Governorship 
of  Ohio  in  1869.  Three  times  he  was  elected  governor,  an 
honor  never  before  conferred  on  any  citizen  of  Ohio.  While 
in  office  he  proved  a  practical  civil  service  reformer,  and  ex 
hibited  the  qualities  of  an  able  administrator. 

The  Republican  Convention  of  June  16,  1876,  nominated 
him  for  the  Presidency.  The  canvass  was  of  an  unusually 
partisan  spirit,  and  the  result  was  a  disputed  one,  the  electoral 
votes  of  Florida,  South  Carolina  and  Louisiana  being  claimed 
by  both  parties,  one  of  Oregon  also  being  disputed.  An 
Electoral  Commission  was  appointed  to  decide  the  question, 
and  they  decided,  by  a  vote  of  eight  to  seven,  in  favor  of  Mr. 
Hayes. 

During  his  administration  specie  payments  were  fully  re 
sumed.  After  his  term  had  expired  he  retired,  amid  universal 
respect,  to  his  home  in  Ohio,  where  he  still  lives. 

JAMES  A.  GARFIELD,  1881. 

Not  far  from  Cleveland,  Ohio,  on  November  19,  1831,  a 
very  humble  home  was  brightened  by  the  birth  of  a  son,  now 
known  to  the  world  as  James  Abram  Garfield.  Living  on  the 
frontier,  his  early  life  was  one  full  of  the  struggles  that  accom 
pany  poverty.  On  the  farm  helping  his  mother ;  at  the  car 
penter's  bench ;  on  the  canal,  he  studied  hard,  reading  all  the 
while.  At  eighteen  years  old  he  was  fitted  to  teach  country- 
school,  and  became  a  popular  teacher.  From  1851  to  1854 
he  studied  at  Hiram  Institute,  Ohio,  teaching  in  the  winter, 
working  as  a  carpenter,  in  the  haying  or  harvest  fields,  in 
summer  and  autumn,  keeping  up  with  his  studies.  He  entered 
Williams  College,  Massachusetts,  in  1854,  and  graduated  in 
1856,  having  accomplished  his  "  definite  purpose,"  but  he  was 
five  hundred  dollars  in  debt.  He  was  soon  elected  President 


396  FACTS  ABOUT  OUR  PRESIDENTS. 

of  Hiram  Institute.  His  success  as  an  instructor  was  marke 
While  attending  to  his  multifarious  duties  as  teacher,  givir 
lectures  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects,  preaching  on  Sunday 
he  began,  in  1857,  the  study  of  law.  By  the  year  1859  h 
strength  of  mind  and  character,  and  his  ability  as  an  orat< 
were  so  well  known,  that  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senat 
and  immediately  took  high  rank  as  a  speaker  and  debater. 

In  1 86 1  he  entered  the  army  and  proved  a  thorough 
brave  and  efficient  officer.  He  was  engaged  chiefly  in  We 
Virginia,  and  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  He  rose  to  be  chi< 
of  the  staff  to  General  Rosecrans,  in  which  position  he  foug] 
in  the  celebrated  battle  of  Chickamauga,  when  he  was  pn 
moted  to  a  major-generalship. 

Elected  to  Congress  he  resigned  from  the  army  and  wei 
to  Washington.  From  the  very  beginning  General  Garfie 
represented  the  higher  phase  of  American  politics.  The  L 
dex  of  the  Congressional  Record  shows  that  he  participate 
in  the  discussion  of  almost  every  important  question  broug] 
before  Congress  since  1863.  To  give  a  list  of  his  speechi 
would  be  to  copy  many  pages  of  the  Index  of  the  Congrc 
sional  Record.  They  were  not  speeches  made  at  random,  bi 
with  preparation  and  research. 

At  the  Republican  National  Convention,  held  June  8,  iSS 
James  A.  Garfield  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency  on  tl 
thirty-sixth  ballot ;  and  after  the  election  received  two  hui 
dred  and  fourteen  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-nine  elector 
votes,  and  secured  the  highest  gift  of  the  nation.  He  assume 
his  office  on  March  4,  1 88 1,  and  the  country  seemed  to  fee 
from  the  start,  the  beneficial  influence  of  the  policy  of  refori 
he  inaugurated.  But  he  was  soon  stricken  down  by  tl 
assassin's  bullet  It  is  needless  to  give  the  details  ofthe  an) 
ious  watching  of  the  nation  over  the  sick  President's  bedsid 


FACTS   ABOUT   OUR    PRESIDENTS.  397 

during  the  weary  months  from  July  to  September.  He  died 
amid  the  universal  sorrows  and  tears  of  his  countrymen,  and 
the  regrets  of  our  foreign  neighbors. 

CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 

Chester  A.  Arthur,  the  son  of  a  New  England  minister,  was 
born  at  Fairfield,  Vermont,  in  1830.  Early  in  life  his  father 
moved  to  Troy,  New  York,  and  in  1844  sent  young  Arthur 
to  Union  College,  Schenectady,  New  York,  then  under  the 
presidency  of  Rev.  Eliphalet  Nott,  one  of  the  ablest  men  in 
his  profession  at  that  time.  He  graduated  in  1848,  and,  study 
ing  law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1850.  He  distinguished 
himself  in  his  advocacy  of  the  anti-slavery  laws  of  New  York 
and  of  the  rights  of  the  colored  race. 

On  the  formation  of  the  Republican  party  in  1856,  Mr. 
Arthur  zealously  supported  Fremont  and  afterwards  Lincoln, 
in  1860.  On  the  outbreak  of  the  war  he  gave  invaluable  aid 
in  the  volunteer  service.  He  was  appointed  collector  of  the 
port  of  New  York 'by  Grant  in  1871,  and  when  his  term  ex 
pired  was  reappointed,  and  the  Senate,  by  a  unanimous  vote, 
confirmed  the  appointment  without  reference  to  a  committee — 
a  high  and  unusual  compliment. 

In  1880  he  was  elected  Vice-President,  and,  on  the  death 
of  President  Garfield,  in  the  fall  of  1 88 1,  was  inaugurated  as 
his  successor. 

President  Arthur  has  proved  himself  a  thoroughly  efficient 
executive,  and  will  leave  his  office  with  the  respect  and  good 
wishes  of  every  conservative  man  in  the  country. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

THE  WOMEN     F  THE  WHITE  HOUSE—  WIVES  OF  OUR  PRESIDENTS  —  A  Hos1 
ESS  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE  MANSION. 


INHERE  is  a  veritable  charm  for  all  Americans  in  tli 
theme  selected  for  this  chapter,  the  Women  of  tli 
White  House,  and  this  volume  would  lose  a  segment  of  ii 
complete  purpose  if  it  should  be  closed  without  reference  t 
them.  They  have  played  no  inconsiderable  role  in  America 
history,  more  so,  perhaps,  during  the  terms  of  the  earlier  Pres 
dents  than  during  the  last  half  of  our  first  century.  For  in  th 
earlier  days  of  our  republic  strong  people  were  so  few  that  ever 
influence  was  counted  either  for  good  or  bad,  and  no  influenc 
was  neglected. 

MRS.  WASHINGTON. 

The  wife  of  our  first  President  was  born  a  Dandridge  c 
Virginia.  This  made  her  heir  to  a  good  name  and  a  larg 
fortune,  and  brought  her  troops  of  suitors  before  her  fir: 
marriage  at  the  age  of  seventeen  to  David  Parke  Custis.  Sh 
bore  him  two  children  before  his  death,  a  few  years  after  the 
marriage.  As  the  Widow  Custis,  Martha  Dandridge  rcnewc 
her  old  triumphs  over  the  warm  hearts  of  Virginia,  an 
made  many  new  conquests.  Among  these  was  the  heart  c 
George  Washington,  then  the  young  and  gallant  soldier  c 
Mount  Vernon.  He  conquered  his  way  to  the  love  of  Ma 
tha  Custis  as  surely  as  he  did  to  the  battle-flags  of  the  Britisl 
and  in  due  time  the  fair  widow  became  the  soldier's  bride.  H 
(398) 


MARTHA  WASHINGTON. 


THE   WOMEN    OF   THE    WHITE    HOUSE.  4OI 

died  December  14,  1799:  his  wife  followed  him  in  the  spring 
of  1 80 1,  in  the  seventy-first  year  of  her  age. 

Mrs.  Washington  was  a  woman  of  great  sweetness  of  dis 
position,  and  she  lived  with  her  second  husband  on  most  ex 
cellent  terms,  and  seldom  if  ever  quarreled  with  him.  She 
was  a  very  good  representative  of  the  higher  domestic 
life  of  the  period  as  revealed  in  what  we  know  of  its  refined 
elegance,  its  dignified  courtesy,  and  inflexible  morality.  She 
was  thoroughly  domestic  in  her  habits,  was  extremely  plain  in 
her  dress,  wearing  clothes  that  were  woven  by  her  own  ser 
vants.  At  General  Washington's  inauguration  in  1789,  he 
wore  a  suit  of  fine  cloth,  the  handiwork  of  his  own  household. 
After  her  husband  became  President  Mrs.  Washington  ap 
peared  at  one  of  her  receptions  in  a  dress  made  by  herself,  and 
composed  of  cotton  striped  with  silk.  "  On  this  occasion," 
say  the  journals  of  the  day,  "  like  her  illustrious  husband,  she 
was  clothed  in  the  manufactures  of  our  own  country,  in 
which  her  native  goodness  and  patriotism  appeared  to  advan 
tage."  Her  first  husband  was  rich,  her  second  richer,  and  to 
the  end  her  face  contained  the  traces  of  great  youthful 
beauty.  She  had  her  trials  as  the  wife  of  the  great  President, 
and  once,  when  passing  through  Philadelphia,  she  was  insulted 
by  the  ladies,  who  for  some  reason  or  other  refused  to  extend 
her  any  hospitalities.  Her  levees  in  New  York  were  held  at 
No.  3  Franklin  Square,  and  those  in  Philadelphia  took  place 
in  a  house  on  Market  street  between  Fifth  and  Sixth,  rented 
from  Robert  Morris,  who  had  handsomely  furnished  it. 

MRS.  JOHN  ADAMS. 

Totally  differing  in  character  from  Martha  Washington  was 
the  wife  of  the  second  President  of  the  United  States.  Mrs. 
John  Adams  was  one  of  the  class  whom  her  grandson,  Charles 


4O2  THE   WOMEN    OE    THE   WHITE    HOUSE. 

Francis  Adams  said  :  "  Were  more  remarkable  for  their  letter- 
writing  propensities  than  the  novel-reading  and  more  pre 
tending  daughters  of  this  era."  She  was  Abigail  Smith, 
twenty  years  old,  when  she  was  married  to  John  Adams  in  1764. 
In  1775  she  was  at  her  home  busy  caring  for  her  children: 
frugal,  kind,  working  with  her  own  hands,  often  at  the  spin 
ning-wheel,  and  learning  French  as  if  in  expectation  of  her 
destiny.  She  came  of  that  choice  New  England  stock,  which 
had  no  sympathy  for  cowardice,  and  was  ever  eager  for  a 
fight  if  the  cause  was  a  good  one.  When  the  Revolution 
came  on  she  wrote  of  the  English  :  "  Let  us  separate,  they 
are  unworthy  to  be  our  brethren.  Let  us  renounce  them,  and 
instead  of  supplications,  as  formerly,  for  their  prosperity  and 
happiness,  let  us  beseech  the  Almighty  to  blast  their  counsels 
and  bring  to  naught  their  devices." 

She  was  the  first  representative  of  her  sex  from  the  United 
States  at  the  Court  of  Great  Britain,  with  her  husband,  John 
Adams.  She  saw  George  IV.  and  the  Queen,  and  soon  be 
came  a  notoriety  by  her  frank  and  peculiar  manners.  After 
wards,  as  the  wife  of  the  second  President,  she  opened  the 
first  New  Year's  reception  in  the  White  House  in  1801,  and 
her  description  of  Washington  City  in  1800  is  very  amusing; 
she  wrote :  "  You  cannot  see  wood  for  the  trees.  Congress 
comes  in  but  to  shiver,  shiver,  shiver.  No  wood-cutters  of 
carters  to  be  had  at  any  rate.  We  are  now  indebted  to  a 
Pennsylvania  wagoner  to  bring  us  through  in  the  treasury 
office — a  cord  and  a  half  of  wood,  which  is  all  we  have  in 
this  house,  where  twelve  fires  are  constantly  required,  and 
we  are  told  the  roads  will  soon  be  so  bad  it  cannot  be 
drawn." 

The  health  of  Mrs.  Adams  was  not  sufficiently  robust  to 
permit  of  much  entertaining,  and  feeling  that  her  infirmities 


THE   WOMEN   OF   THE   WHITE   HOUSE.  403 

ather  prevented  her  from  executing  her  duties  as  mistress  of 
he  White  House,  she  returned  to  Quincy,  after  a  five  months' 
esidence  at  the  national  capitol.  She  died  October  18,  1818, 
ged  seventy-four.  She  was  one  of  the  remarkable  charac- 
ers  of  her  remarkable  age.  She  did  not  lack  tenderness  nor, 
womanly  grace,  but  her  understanding,  energy,  decision  were 
ntirely  masculine  in  character.  She  was  an  eminently  fitting 
nistress  for  the  White  House,  as  she  could  skilfully  take  her 
>art  in  any  affairs,  however  great  or  delicate,  and  never  with- 
ut  success^.  And  all  the  while  she  was  a  thoroughly  de- 
ghtful  companion  for  her  husband,  giving  him  at  all  times 
hat  sympathy  and  affection,  and  that  womanly  assistance 
I'hich  confined  all  his  cares  to  the  austere  lines  of  his  coun- 
ry's  troubles.  Mrs.  Adams  was  indeed  a  credit  to  her  times. 

MRS.  JAMES  MADISON. 

The  third  President  of  the  United  States,  Thomas  Jefferson, 
cached  that  great  dignity — a  widower.  His  wife,  who  was  a 
vidow,  Mrs.  Skilton,  died  nineteen  years  before  his  inaugur- 
tion.  He  held  no  formal  receptions  during  his  eight  years' 
>ccupancy  of  the  Executive  Mansion. 

The  next  Mistress  of  the  White  House  was  the  famous 
Dolly  Payne  Madison — the  widow  Todd  when  she  accepted 
he  hand  and  fortunes  of  James  Madison.  Mrs.  Madison 
ossessed  most  courtly  manners  and  great  personal  charms. 
he  reached  the  White  House  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven,  not 
macquainted  with  Washington  life,  as  for  eight  years  she  had 
lispensed  great  hospitality  as  the  wife  of  Jefferson's  Secretary 
f  State.  Her  mansion  was  noted  for  its  choice  and  liberal 
able,  being  always  most  abundantly  supplied.  It  was  always 
pread  as  if  for  some  festival,  and  to  a  statement  of  this  fact 
he  answered  that  "  she  thought  abundance  preferable  to  elc- 
24 


THE    WOMEN    OF    THE    WHITE    HOUSE. 

gance,  that  circumstances  formed  customs,  and  custom 
formed  tastes,  and  as  profusion  was  repugnant  to  foreig 
customs,  from  the  circumstances  of  the  superabundance  o 
our  country,  she  did  not  hesitate  to  sacrifice  the  delicacy  o 
European  taste  for  the  less  elegant  but  more  liberal  fashion  o 
Virginia."  She  did  not  stay  long  in  the  White  House,  ho\\ 
ever,  as  the  British — in  our  second  war — soon  appeared  befor 
Washington,  captured  and  burnt  the  place,  setting  fire  to  th 
Executive  Mansion.  Mrs.  Madison  was  forced  to  fly  in  dis 
guise  in  the  midst  of  a  storm,  and  for  a  while  the  chief  lad; 
of  the  land  had  not  where  to  lay  her  head.  After  the  retire 
ment  of  the  British  the  President  rented  the  house  owned  b; 
Colonel  Tayloe,  on  the  corner  of  New  York  avenue  am 
Eighteenth  street.  At  the  last  New  Year's  reception  held  b; 
Mrs.  Madison,  that  lady  appeared  in  a  dress  woven  fron 
American  wool.  Mrs.  Madison  was  not  a  learned  woman 
but  possessed  great  natural  talents,  and  was  gifted  with  ; 
large  heart.  She  lived  to  a  great  age,  dying  on  July  12,  1845 
at  her  residence  in  Washington. 

MRS.  JAMES  MONROE. 

The  next  woman  to  reach  the  White  House  as  its  Mistres; 
was  the  wife  of  President  James  Monroe.  She  married  Sen 
ator  Monroe  in  1789,  and  came  to  Philadelphia  with  her  hus* 
band  to  take  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  H< 
was  afterwards  appointed  American  Minister  to  France,  when 
they  remained  five  years,  a  fact  enabling  her  to  enjoy  society 
and  study  French  character.  She  was  tall  and  gracefull) 
formed,  polished  and  elegant,  and  as  the  wife  of  a  Virginia 
senator,  independent  by  her  fortune,  was  surrounded  bj 
luxury  and  prosperity.  While  she  was  abroad  La  Fayettc 
was  captured  by  the  Austrians  and  thrown  into  a  Prussian 


THE    WOMEN    OF   THE    WHITE    HOUSE.  405 

Jungeon  at  Wesel  on  the  Rhine,  where  he  was  terribly  treated. 
Mrs.  Monroe  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  illustrious  prisoner, 
md  secured  an  interview  between  the  General  and  his  wife, 
vho  had  herself  been  condemned  to  death.  La  Fayette  was 
eleased  from  prison  at  the  end  of  five  years,  and  his  wife  at 
he  end  of  twenty-two  months.  In  1817  President  Monroe, 
ifter  his  election,  removed  to  the  White  House,  where  he  re- 
ided  during  his  eight  years'  term,  made  quite  memorable  by 
VTrs.  Monroe's  hospitality.  The  President  and  his  wife  had 
>rought  with  them  from  France  certain  foreign  customs  and 
nanners,  and  their  levees  were  quite  distinguished,  although 
y  democratic.  Foreigners  spoke  of  the  cordiality  of  the 
^resident  and  his  wife.  After  he  retired  from  office  President 
Monroe  was  engaged  with  the  other  two  ex-Presidents,  Jeffer- 
on  and  Madison,  in  establishing  the  University  of  Virginia ; 
.nd  Mrs.  Monroe  was  never  so  happy  as  when  entertaining 
he  throng  of  visitors  who  delighted  to  do  honor  to  the  three 
x-Presidents  of  the  United  States,  as  they  met  together  under 
ler  roof.  She  died  suddenly  in  1830  at  an  advanced  age. 

MRS.  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 

Mrs.  Louisa  Catherine  Adams,  wife  of  John  Quincy  Adams, 
vas  the  sixth  lady  of  the  White  House,  and  with  her  closed 
be  list  of  the  official  women  of  the  American  Revolution. 
>he  was  born  in  the  city  of  London,  February  11,  1775,  her 
ather,  Mr.  Johnson,  of  Maryland,  then  living  in  England. 
Like  her  husband's  mother  she  was  what  might  be  called  a 
Dublic  woman  from  her  marriage,  and  this  will  account  for 
:heir  uncommon  posterity.  John  Quincy  Adams  first  saw 
ler  in  her  father's  house  in  1794.  On  the  26th  of  July,  1797, 
:hey  were  married  at  the  church  of  All  Hallows.  In  1801, 
ifter  the  birth  of  her  first  child,  she  embarked  with  her  hus- 


408  THE   WOMEN    OF   THE   WHITE    HOUSE. 

on  April  4,  1841.  She  was  born  in  1776,  and  named  Ann 
Semmes,  near  Morristown,  New  Jersey,  and  she  was  marrie 
to  Captain  Harrison  in  1795.  After  the  death  of  the  Pres 
dent  she  remained  at  her  old  home  until  1855,  when  she  r< 
moved  to  the  home  of  her  son,  Hon.  A.  Scott  Harrison,  fi\ 
miles  below  North  Bend,  Indiana,  dying  on  February  2 
1864,  in  the  eighty-ninth  year  of  her  age.  Mrs.  Harrison  We 
a  very  estimable  lady,  and  was  much  beloved  by  those  th; 
knew  her. 

MRS.  JOHN  TYLER. 

When  John  Tyler  succeeded  to  the  dignities  and  trouble 
the  honors  and  the  responsibilities  of  the  President's  office,  h 
had  as  wife  the  daughter  of  Robert  Christian  of  Virgini; 
This  gentle  lady  died  on  the  iQth  of  September,  184; 
Nearly  two  years  later,  June  26,  1844,  the  President  was  mai 
ried  a  second  time  to  Miss  Julia  Gardner,  the  ceremony  takin 
place  at  the  Church  of  the  Ascension,  New  York  city.  Mr 
Tyler  did  the  honors  of  the  White  House  for  eight  month 
only,  yet  she  left  the  memory  of  a  very  graceful  and  charrr 
ing  presence,  and  an  open-handed  hospitality  that  completel 
won  the  many  visitors  to  the  President's  residence. 

MRS.  JAMES  K.  POLK. 

Mrs.  James  K.  Polk,  who  came  into  the  White  House  o 
the  4th  of  March,  1846,  was  born  near  Murfreesboro,  Tennej 
see,  September  4,  1804,  the  daughter  of  Captain  Joel  an 
Elizabeth  Childress.  She  possessed  all  of  the  best  of  souther 
traits  of  character,  and  therefore  made  an  admirable  hostes: 
She  was  of  the  Spanish  order  of  beauty,  and  was  gifted  wit 
a  stately,  .attractive  presence,  which,  if  it  did  not  immediatel 
win  the  visitor,  yet  impressed  him  with  a  subtle  charm  tha 
lingered  long  in  the  memory.  After  leaving  the  Whit 


THE    WOMEN    OF    THE    WHITE    HOUSE.  409 

House  Mrs.  Polk  retired  with  her  husband  to  his  home  at 
Nashville,  where  she  still  lives  in  a  golden  old  age. 

MRS.  MAJOR  BLISS. 

Mrs.  Zachary  Taylor  was  another  of  the  ladies  who  never 
presided  at  or  managed  the  White  House.  Her  husband  was 
elected  President  of  the  United  States  in  1848,  and  among 
those  who  bitterly  opposed  his  election  was  Mrs.  Taylor. 
When  it  was  understood  that  she  would  not  assume  the  re 
sponsibility  of  going  to  Washington  as  its  presiding  lady,  her 
daughter,  Elizabeth  Taylor,  twenty-two  years  of  age,  was  an 
nounced  as  her  mother's  substitute.  She  had  just  been  mar 
ried  to  Major  Bliss  of  the  regular  army,  and  was  educated  in 
Philadelphia.  The  inauguration  of  "  old  Rough  and  Ready  " 
was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  ever  seen  in  Washington :  the 
Whigs  having  mounted  into  power  after  a  long  absence  from 
office.  Mrs.  Taylor  was  never  visible  in  the  reception  rooms 
of  Mrs.  Bliss.  She  received  her  visitors  in  her  private  apart 
ments,  and  so  escaped  observation.  The  political  revolution 
made  the  receptions  of  Mrs.  Bliss  very  attractive,  and  the  lady 
well  understood  the  art  that  heightens  the  charm  of  a  joyous 
social  gathering.  The  administration  of  her  father,  however, 
lasted  but  a  year.  From  becoming  overheated  at  a  celebra 
tion  President  Taylor  took  a  chill  and  died  on  July  9,  1850,  in 
the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age.  Mrs.  Taylor  died  six  weeks 
after  her  husband.  Major  Bliss  soon  followed,  and  two  years 
later  his  widow — who  was  childless — married  again,  and  under 
her  new  name  passed  from  the  pages  of  history. 

MRS.    MlLLARD    FlLLMORE. 

Mrs.  Millard  Fillmore,  who  succeeded  Mrs.  Bliss,  was  born 
in  1798  and  died  at  Willard's  Hotel,  Washington,  March  30, 


410  THE   WOMEN    OF    THE    WHITE    HOUSE. 

1853,  a  Ifttle  over  three  weeks  after  the  termination  of  her 
husband's  term  of  office.     She  proved  a  very  acceptable  Mis 
tress  of  the  Presidential   Mansion,  and  dispensed  her  hospi 
tality  with  much  quiet  dignity  and  grace.     During  her  final 
illness,  which  was  somewhat  protracted,  her  place  at  official 
ceremonies  was  taken  by  the  only  daughter  of  the  President, 
Miss  Abigail  Fillmore,  who  passed  away  on  the  28th  of  July, 

1854.  Miss  Fillmore  was  a  graceful  woman,  and  she  met  the 
onerous  burdens  of  her  position  with  commendable  courage 
and  intelligence. 

MRS.  FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 

With  the  assumption  of  state  duties  by  Mrs.  Franklin 
Pierce,  the  cloud  that  so  often  hovered  over  the  life  of  the 
White  House  occupants  returned  again.  While  on  their  way 
to  Washington  to  the  inauguration  the  President-elect,  Mrs. 
Pierce,  and  their  little  boy  met  with  a  railroad  accident  which 
resulted  in  the  death  of  the  lad.  Mrs.  Pierce  had  for  some 
time  been  in  ill-health,  and  the  death  of  the  boy  proved  a  shock 
that  shadowed  her  entire  career  in  Washington.  She  appeared 
at  some  of  the  state  dinners  and  receptions,  but  preferred  retire 
ment,  and  absented  herself  when  possible.  She  remained  in 
Washington  until  the  close  of  her  husband's  administration, 
made  a  tour  of  Europe  with  him,  and  then  returned  to  New 
Hampshire — her  and  his  native  State.  She  as  Jane  Means  Ap- 
pleton,  was  born  March  12,  1806,  at  Hampton,  was  married  to 
Franklin  Pierce  in  1834,  and  died  at  Andover,  Massachusetts, 
on  the  2d  of  September,  1863.  Her  husband  survived  her 
six  years  and  a  month. 

Miss  HARRIET  LANE. 
Succeeding  Mrs.  Pierce  came  Miss  Harriet  Lane,  the  niece 


MRS.   LINCOLN. 


THE    WOMEN    OF    THE    WHITE    HOUSE.  413 

of  President  James  Buchanan,  a  lady  of  rare  accomplishments 
and  such  charm  that  in  her  hands  the  White  House  hospitali 
ties  achieved  a  fair  immortality.  Miss  Lane  was  remarkably 
well  equipped  for  the  duties  of  her  position,  and  her  grace, 
tact,  and  talent  are  well  attested  in  the  memory  of  many  who 
enjoyed  the  Executive  Mansion  during  the  four  years  from 
1857  to  1861.  She  accompanied  Mr.  Buchanan  to  England 
when  he  was  minister  to  that  country,  and  did  him  and  the 
nation  notable  credit.  She  married  a  Mr.  Johnston  and  still 
lives. 

MRS.  MARY  TODD  LINCOLN. 

During  the  four  years  following  1861,  and  the  beginning  of 
Mr.  Lincoln's  second  term,  the  White  House  hospitalities 
were  in  the  hands  of  Mrs.  Mary  Todd  Lincoln ;  but  the 
smoke  of  the  great  conflict  that  blew  over  Washington 
shrouded  everything  in  the  grim  atmosphere  of  horrid  war, 
and  precluded  all  but  the  fewest  formalities.  The  finer  phases 
of  life  were  postponed  until  the  happy  coming  of  peace — 
there  was  no  time  for  gayety  and  mirth.  Mrs.  Lincoln's  life 
at  Washington  was  a  constant  strain  of  trouble,  a  constant 
contact  with  anxiety,  ending  in  heart-rending  sorrow  by  a 
martyr's  bedside.  From  the  White  House — which  Mrs.  Lin 
coln  occupied  for  a  short  while  after  the  President's  assassina 
tion — the  unhappy  lady  removed  to  Springfield,  Illinois, 
where  her  husband  is  buried.  Here  through  varying  vicissi 
tudes,  almost  always  those  of  sorrow,  she  remained — with  the 
exception  of  a  short  trip  to  Europe — until  death  removed  her 
last  year. 

MRS.  PATTERSON  AND  MRS.  STOVER. 

Mrs.  Andrew  Johnson,  like  Mrs.  Taylor,  Mrs.  Pierce,  and 
Mrs.  Fillmore,  was  rarely  seen  at  the  White  House  during  the 
time  her  husband  occupied  the  chair  of  the  Supreme  Execu- 


414  THE    WOMEN    OF    THE    WHITE    HOUSE. 

tive.  His  two  daughters,  Mrs.  Senator  Patterson  and  Mrs. 
Stover,  attended  to  the  duties  that  fall  to  the  Mistress  of  the 
Presidential  Mansion.  Mrs.  Stover  succeeded  Mrs.  Patterson 
before  the  close  of  Mr.  Johnson's  administration.  Mrs.  Pat 
terson  was  a  woman  of  great  good  sense,  and  had  a  very  deli 
cate  appreciation  of  her  sudden  and  unexpected  importance. 
When  she  found  herself  the  first  lady  in  the  land  she  said : 
"  We  are  plain  people  from  the  mountains  of  Tennessee, 
called  here  for  a  short  time  by  a  national  calamity.  I  trust 
too  much  will  not  be  expected  of  us."  And  when  the  grief- 
distracted  Anna  Surratt  threw  herself  prostrate  on  the  floor 
of  the  White  House,  imploring  to  see  Mrs.  Patterson,  the  lady 
sent  this  message :  "  Tell  the  girl  she  has  my  sympathy  and 
my  tears,  but  I  have  no  more  right  to  speak  than  the  servants 
of  the  White  House."  During  President  Johnson's  term  of 
office  not  much  was  demanded  of  its  Mistress,  and  not  much 
accorded.  The  troubles  of  the  President's  career,  and  of  the 
country,  rather  weighted  down  his  social  life,  and  proved  a 
drawback  to  much  of  the  brilliancy  that  he  occasionally  at 
tempted  to  kindle. 

MRS.  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT. 

The  hero  of  Appomattox  married,  when  yet  a  lieutenant  in 
the  service  he  was  destined  so  much  to  adorn,  a  Miss  Dent. 
As  Mrs.  Grant  she  managed  the  White  House  from  1869  to 
1876 — a  period  during  which  she  received  her  official  callers 
with  courtesy  and  liberal  hospitality.  At  the  conclusion  of 
her  official  career  she  accompanied  General  Grant  around 
the  world,  and  then  settled  down  in  New  York,  where  she 
erected  a  home. 

MRS.  RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES. 

Mrs.  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  who  came  to  the  \Vhite  House 


MRS.   ULYSSES  S.   GRANT. 


MRS.   LUCRETIA   RUDOLPH   GARFIELD. 


THE   WOMEN    OF   THE   WHITE    HOUSE.  417 

as  its  Mistress  in  1876,  made  her  career  remarkable  by  the 
enforcement  in  official  life  of  the  principles  governing  her 
private  career.  Her  belief  in  temperance  was  so  strong  that 
she  did  not  permit  the  duties  and  demands  of  official  hospi 
tality  to  overcome  her  personal  opinions.  She  saw  no  differ 
ence  between  Mrs.  Hayes  at  home  and  Mrs.  President  Hayes 
at  Washington ;  and  the  creed  of  Father  Mathew  and  John 
B.  Gough  had  full  sway  within  the  historic  walls  of  the  Exec 
utive  Mansion. 

MRS.  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD. 

Mrs.  James  A.  Garfield  was  the  daughter  of  a  Maryland 
farmer,  Zebulon  Rudolph,  from  the  banks  of  the  Shenandoah, 
and  Arabella  Mason,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut.  Lucretia 
Rudolph's  uncle — so  runs  the  Rudolph  tradition — served 
with  distinguished  bravery  in  the  Revolution,  and  after 
sheathing  his  sword  here  he  went  to  France  to  draw  it  in  the 
service  of  Napoleon.  So  well  and  happily  did  he  fight  that 
he  rose  to  be  Michel,  Duke  of  Elchingen,  Marshal  Ney. 
Miss  Rudolph  was  a  school-teacher  when  in  1858  she  mar 
ried  James  A.  Garfield.  She  had  but  little  time  to  acquaint 
herself  with  the  duties  of  the  White  House  before  the  terrible 
2d  of  July  plunged  the  nation  into  mourning,  and  began  for 
her  a  summer  of  weary  sorrow.  Upon  the  President's  death 
and  burial  she  returned  to  Mentor  and  took  up  her  residence 
at  that  quiet  town  on  Lake  Erie. 

MRS.  McELROY. 

The  present  Mistress  of  the  Executive  Mansion  is  the  sister 
of  our  President,  and  manages  most  acceptably.  The  Presi 
dent's  wife  died  some  time  before  he  was  nominated  for  Vice- 
President.  Mrs.  McElroy  has  continued  and  revived  the  best 
traditions  of  the  Women  of  the  White  House  by  her  gentle 


41 8  THE   WOMEN    OF    THE    WHITE    HOUSE. 

manners,  courtly  grace,  and  thorough  hospitality.  She  is  an 
ornament  to  the  social  life  of  the  capital,  and  to  the  nation 
over  which  she  presides. 

MRS.  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

When,  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century,  a  good 
many  of  the  settlers  of  Massachusetts  moved  into  other  States, 
farther  away  from  the  common  centres  at  which  they  at  first 
gathered,  one  of  those  who  moved  from  Massachusetts  to 
Maine  was  Jacob  Stanwood,  of  Ipswich.  The  beauties  of  the 
Kennebec  valley  attracted  him,  and  finding  there  a  fair  pros 
pect  of  conducting  his  business — that  of  buying  and  selling 
wool — with  success,  he  chose  Augusta  as  a  residence,  for  at 
that  time  the  wool  trade  of  the  country  was  done  by  the  mer 
chants  living  practically  in  the  wool-growing  districts,  and 
obtaining  from  the  farmers  their  small  and  varying  crops. 

His  first  partner  was  Benjamin  Davis,  but  subsequently 
Judge  Robert  Emmons,  at  that  time  a  distinguished  jurist  of 
the  Pine  Tree  State,  who  furnished  the  means  to  carry  on  the 
concern.  Before  coming  to  Maine,  in  1822,  he  had  married 
Sallie  Caldwell,  of  Ipswich,  his  second  wife,  and  who  bore  him 
eight  children.  Of  these  the  seventh  was  named  Harriet. 

Her  youth  was  passed  in  the  manner  usual  with  New  Eng 
land  girls  of  that  period.  She  attended  the  common  schools 
of  the  town,  and  received  a  clever  education,  graduating  well 
up  in  her  class.  She  was  resolute,  full  of  self-helpfulness,  and 
fully  imbued  with  the  spirit  which  has  had  large  development 
among  New  England  women,  namely,  that  women  had  a  mis 
sion  of  usefulness  to  fill  in  life,  that  the  demands  of  the  age 
were  for  work,  and  to  escape  the  inanity  of  idleness  it  was 
necessary  to  do  something  which  should  make  their  fellow- 
beings  wiser  and  better.  It  is  true  that  behind  this  rational 


THE   WOMEN    OF   THE   WHITE    HOUSE.  421 

conclusion  there  was  a  practical  motive :  that  the  necessities 
of  her  family  required  her  to  be  dependent  upon  her  own 
resources. 

At  this  time  she  had  a  companion  who  was  as  intimate  with 
her  as  though  she  had  been  a  sister,  Miss  Abigail  Dodge,  and 
together,  actuated  by  the  common  purpose  to  win  in  the 
world,  they  boldly  journeyed  a  thousand  miles  towards  the 
wild  West  in  search  of  an  occupation.  Fate  had  it  that  they 
should  drift  to  Kentucky,  and  fate  had  it  also  that  while  there 
they  should  meet  James  Gillespie  Elaine,  fresh  from  the  western 
end  of  Pennsylvania,  enthusiastic  in  his  pursuit  of  the  future. 
He  was  at  that  period  well  educated,  brainy,  and  singularly 
agreeable  in  conversation  and  manners,  and  as  a  teacher  he 
was  particularly  popular.  In  due  time,  as  related  elsewhere 
in  this  volume,  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Blaine,  and  from  that 
day  to  this  she  has  been  ever  at  his  side.  Coming  from  good 
old  Massachusetts  stock,  she  inherited  all  the  virtues  and  vig 
orous  qualities  of  mind  which  have  so  distinguished  those  from 
the  soil  of  that  State,  and  throughout  his  life  she  has  been 
to  Mr.  Blaine  a  help-meet  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  With 
a  clear  head  she  has  assisted  him  in  almost  every  undertaking 
of  his  life.  She  has  encouraged  him  when  he  needed  encour 
agement  ;  she  has  restrained  him  when  he  was  impetuous  and 
needed  restraining ;  she  has  soothed  him  when  attacked ;  she 
has  defended  him  when  slandered ;  she  has  stood  by  him  in 
the  hours  when  he  most  needed  such  assistance  and  comfort, 
and  she  has  been  to  him  a  perfect  wife. 

Mrs.  Blaine  is  a  rather  large  woman,  with  fine  features, 
bright  gray  eyes,  and  fine  color.  She  dresses  always  in  ex 
cellent  taste ;  she  is  interested  in  the  housekeeping,  and 
makes  a  good  housekeeper.  She  possesses  a  profound  love 
for  her  children,  and  is  to  them  a  most  tender  mother.  Her 


422  THE    WOMEN    OF   THE    WHITE    HOUSE. 

voice  is  soft  and  sweet,  and  her  manner  exceedingly  gracious. 
Long  contact  with  the  world,  especially  the  heterogeneous 
world  of  politics,  has  made  her  cosmopolitan  in  character,  and 
impressed  upon  her  insensibly  the  great  fact  that  the  best  pol 
itician  is  he  who  always  wears  a  smile. 

Her  husband's  guests,  be  they  big  or  little,  are  made  to  feel 
thoroughly  at  home ;  are  made  to  feel  that  in  the  person  of 
Mrs.  Elaine  they  have  an  immediate  friend,  and  one  to  whose 
sympathetic  heart  any  tales  may  be  told  in  the  assurance  of  a 
kindly  reception.  When  in  the  course  of  events  Mr.  Elaine 
shall  have  taken  up  the  reins  of  government  and  his  residence 
at  the  White  House,  the  visitor  there  will  find  in  the  new 
hostess  of  the  Executive  Mansion  a  woman  admirably  planned 
by  nature  for  that  position.  She  will  grace  the  official  life  of 
the  head  of  the  nation,  and  will  bring  to  her  husband's  regime 
a  credit,  in  matters  of  less  grave  a  nature  than  those  with 
which  he  will  have  to  do,  that  will  not  be  inconsiderable. 
Unfortunately  some  of  the  ladies  who  have  been  mistresses 
of  the  White  House  have  hardly  appreciated  their  position  and 
the  importance  of  conducting  their  official  life  with  the  dignity 
and  cordiality  demanded  by  our  system.  With  Mrs.  Elaine 
as  the  presiding  genius  we  have  no  fear.  There  will  have 
been  none  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present  who  will  ex 
ceed  her  in  the  excellence  of  her  administration  and  the  dig 
nity  and  charm  with  which  she  will  surround  Washington 
life. 


4  CHAPTER 


THE  WHITE  HOUSE  —  WHERE  THE  PRESIDENT  LIVES  —  SOMETHING  ABOUT  THE 
>  EXECUTIVE  MANSION.  X 

THE  reader  who  has  followed  the  fortunes   of  the  next. 
President   through    the    many   pages    preceding    this 
would  not,   I   am  sure,   be  satisfied    if   I   did  not  furnish  a 
glimpse,  at  least,  of  where  our  President  resides  when  he  is  at 
home  to  the  nation. 

The  White  House  is  one  of  the  very  few,  if  not  the  only 
one  of  the  public  buildings  in  this  country  which  is  substan 
tially  the  same  now  as  in  the  days  of  George  Washington. 
All  other  public  buildings  long  since  became  unfitted  for  the 
volume  of  business  they  were  called  upon  to  accommodate, 
and  were  either  enlarged,  rebuilt  or  abandoned  altogether  in 
favor  of  newer  and  better  structures.  With  the  exception  of 
the  northern  portico  which  was  added  when  the  structure  was 
repaired  after  the  British  invasion  of  1814,  and  the  various 
decorative  restorations  that  have  been  undertaken  in  the  in 
terior,  the  White  House  building  is  in  1884  just  what  it  was 
designed  to  be  in  1792,  when  the  corner-stone  was  laid  by  the 
Masons  of  the  adjacent  county  before  the  interested  eyes  of 
George  Washington. 

The  architect  was  James  Hoban,  an  Irishman  who  had 
established  himself  in  Charleston  about  1786  and  had  been 
quite  successful  in  building  houses  on  the  Battery  for  South 
Carolina  planters  and  the  wealthy  tradesmen  of  the  town.  A 

(425) 


426  THE   WHITE    HOUSE. 

prize  of  $500  had  been  offered  in  1791  for  the  best  design  for 
the  President's  House.  Hoban  being  young  and  ambitious,  at 
once  entered  the  competition.  He  had  not  seen  much  of  the 
world,  and  his  experience  was  therefore  limited.  One  of  the 
best  houses  he  knew  of  was  that  of  the  Duke  of  Leinster,  in 
Dublin,  a  house  built  in  imitation  of  those  spacious  and  stately 
villas  which  the  Italians  learned  to  build  when  the  rest  of 
Europe  was  living  in  uncouth  piles  of  brick  or  gloomy  fortified 
castles.  This  house  of  the  Duke's  was  Hoban's  model.  His 
design  therefore  was  simple  and  unpretentious.  He  did  not 
strive  after  effects  ;  he  did  not  combine  the  hideousness  of  half 
a  dozen  styles  with  the  beauties  of  half  a  dozen  others  ;  he  did 
not  try  to  build  a  temple,  a  cathedral  or  a  castle.  He  drew  a 
plan  for  a  spacious  and  dignified  dwelling,  arranging  thick  walla 
to  secure  warmth  in  winter  and  coolness  in  summer,  large 
windows  to  admit  plenty  of  sunlight  and  breeze,  and  widfl 
doors  so  that  people  could  pass  in  and  out  without  jostling 
or  inconvenience. 

Hoban's  plan,  which  was  eminently  practical  and  praise 
worthy,  was  so  well  received  by  the  committee  having  the 
matter  in  charge,  and  by  President  Washington,  that  the  prize 
was  awarded  to  the  young  Irishman,  and  he  was  requested  to 
come  to  the  capital  and  superintend  the  erection  of  the  struc 
ture.  It  was  at  first  proposed  to  call  it  The  Palace,  but  the 
announcement  of  the  intention  elicited  such  a  lively  protest 
from  those  who  feared  this  was  aping  the  ways  of  courts  and 
kings  that  Congress  decreed  the  title  of  the  structure  to  be 
the  "  Executive  Mansion :  "  mansion  being  at  that  time  a  term 
in  common  use  for  the  better-class  dwellings  in  Virginia  and 
Maryland.  Just  when  the  Mansion  was  given  its  more  pop 
ular  name  of  the  White  House  is  not  exactly  known ;  but  it 
probably  first  had  currency  in  the  rebuilding  of  the  structure^ 


THE   WHITE    HOUSE.  427- 

after  the  British  soldiers  had  attempted  to  destroy  it,  when 
the  Mansion  was  painted  white  to  hide  the  black  traces  of 
smoke  and  flame  upon  the  freestone  walls. 

This  act  of  vandalism  was  attempted  in  August,  1814,  when 
General  Ross  and  Admiral  Cockburn  came  marching  across 
the  country  from  the  Patuxent  river,  dispersing  the  militia  or 
ganized  at  Bladensburg  to  oppose  them,  and  captured  the 
capital.  Washington  was  then  a  long,  rambling,  uncouth 
village,  and  the  unfinished  Executive  Mansion  was  an  unsightly 
pile,  standing  in  the  midst  of  unkept  grounds,  surrounded  by 
a  cheap  paling  fence.  After  the  soldiers  had  burned  the  cap- 
itol,  and  just  as  they  were  about  to  countermarch  to  their 
ships,  having  pillaged  the  house  quite  at  their  leisure  for 
twenty-four  hours,  they  brought  fire  from  a  beer-shop  and  set 
it  ablaze.  Luckily  not  so  much  damage  was  done  as  the 
invaders  had  intended,  and  the  rebuilding  commenced  at  once. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  it  was  painted  white :  a  color  it  has 
ever  since  retained,  and  a  color  that  has  given  it  a  name  re 
cognizable  and  known  the  world  over. 

The  first  to  occupy  the  Executive  Mansion  was  President 
John  Adams,  Washington's  immediate  successor.  He  was 
not,  however,  as  thoroughly  comfortable  as  a  chief  magistrate 
should  have  been.  Mrs.  Adams  relates  in  her  letters  how  she 
used  the  unfinished  East  Room  for  drying  clothes,  and  that  she 
had  a  house-warming  of  a  very  vigorous  pattern  in  order  to 
take  the  dampness  out  of  the  walls.  Since  Adams  twenty 
Presidents  have  lived  within  its  walls,  and  known  its  hand 
some  rooms.  Their  history  has  been  that  of  the  nation  in  that 
they  represented  the  contending  forces  of  our  national  life,  the 
birth,  triumph  and  downfall  of  the  issues  of  an  hundred  years. 
Adams,  Jefferson,  Jackson,  Buchanan,  Lincoln,  Grant,  Gar- 
field — what  a  world  of  memories  these  names  evoke  !  no  less 
in  their  victories  than  in  the  defeats  of  their  competitors. 
25 


428  THE    WHITE    HOUSE. 

The  ground-plan  of  the  White  House  is  the  following : 


I 


In  earlier  times  the  Mansion  was  furnished  so  stiffly  a< 
give  the  place  the  appearance  of  a  hotel.  It  was  thought  : 
ficient  to  have  thick  carpets  on  the  floors,  and  strong,  p] 
furniture,  with  a  few  decorative  pieces  too  heavy  to  be  can 
off  by  servants  during  the  quadrennial  migration.  Wit 
the  past  two  years  the  interior  of  the  house  has  been  redec 
ated  throughout  in  modern  style.  The  long  corridor,  wh 
leads  from  the  East  Room  to  the  Conservatory,  and  fr 
which  open  the  Red,  Green,  and  Blue  Rooms,  is  a  good  ex; 
pie  of  this.  The  light  is  admitted  through  a  partition 
wrinkled  stained-glass  mosaics,  and  as  it  falls  upon  the  gil< 
niches,  where  stand  dwarf  palmetto  trees,  upon  the  silvery  i 


THE    WHITE    HOUSE.  429 

work  of  the  ceiling,  and  upon  the  sumptuous  furniture,  the 
effect  is  at  once  marvelously  soft  and  gorgeous.  It  makes  the 
beholder  feel  that  this  great  American  Republic  can  at  least 
provide  its  representative  with  the  luxury  that  our  best  citizens 
introduce  into  their  homes.  Viewing  this  corridor  we  are  no 
longer  impressed  with  the  idea,  as  formerly,  that  because  we 
have  a  republican  form  of  government  we  must  of  necessity 
treat  our  Presidents  as  poorly  as  possible,  and  in  order  to  pre 
vent  the  founding  of  a  monarchy  we  must  remove  from  the  life 
of  the  chief  executive  all  that  favors  elegance  or  furnishes  com 
fort  to  the  senses. 

The  East  Room  is  one  of  very  magnificent  proportions. 
It  was  intended  by  Hoban  for  a  banqueting-hall,  and  he  un 
doubtedly  thought  that  Presidents  of  the  United  States  would 
now  and  again  give  mighty  feasts  like  those  given  by  kings 
and  princes  and  powerful  noblemen  of  the  old  world.  Prob 
ably  neither  Hoban  nor  Washington,  who  undoubtedly  en 
couraged  the  architect's  plan,  imagined  that  the  room  would 
be  needed,  and  besides  be  much  too  small  for  the  miscella 
neous  crowd  which  in  another  generation  would  overflow  the 
Mansion  at  public  receptions.  This  East  Room  is  nearly  now 
what  it  was  during  Grant's  time,  when  the  ceiling  was  broken 
into  three  panels  by  heavy  beams  supported  by  columns,  and 
profuse  gilding  was  done,.  The  furniture  in  this  room  is  ebony 
and  old-gold. 

The  Red  Room  is  used  as  a  reception-parlor  by  the  ladies 
of  the  President's  household,  and  it  is  furnished  with  those 
articles  that  give  it  a  thorough  home-look.  A  piano  graces 
one  corner,  and  a  handsome  embroidered  screen,  presented  by 
the  Austrian  commissioners  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition, 
decorates  another.  An  imposing  carved  wood  mantel,  thir 
teenth  century  style,  set  off  with  tiling  of  tortoise-shell  glass, 


43O  THE   WHITE    HOUSE. 

is  over  the  fireplace,  and  is  covered  with  handsome  ornamen 
Some  beautiful  work  adorns  the  ceiling  and  the  walls,  \vhic 
with  a  matching  carpet,  gives  the  room  a  warm  and  rich  ti 
Opening  from  this  room  is  the  State  dining-room,  only  us 
when  large  companies  are  entertained   at   dinner.     In  eai 
times  this  room  was  called  the  "  Company  dining-room  " 
distinguish  it  from    the    family  dining-room  just  across  t 
hall.     The  long  table  in  this  room  seats  thirty-eight  persoi 
In  the  middle  sits  the  President,  and  opposite  him  the  mistrc 
of  the   Mansion.     No   order  of  precedence    is   observed 
going  in  to  dinner  or  in  seating  the  guests.     Something 
this  sort  was  attempted  in  the  early  days  of  the  republic,  b 
promptly  abandoned  as  not  practicable,  and,  perhaps,  also  ri 
sensible  in  a  country  professing  democratic  institutions. 

The  upper  floor  of  the  White  House  is  approached  by  t\ 
stairways,  one  leading  from  the  grand  corridor,  used  only  1 
the  family  and  their  guests,  and  the  other  coming  down  frc 
the  office  part  of  the  building  to  the  small  hall  between  t 
vestibule  and  the  East  Room,  forming  a  general  passagew 
for  all  people  having  business  with  the  President  or  his  seci 
taries.  A  broad  hall  runs  from  end  to  end  of  the  seco 
story,  terminating  in  semi-circular  windows ;  but  the  fi 
effect  of  the  ample  length  and  width  of  this  corridor 
spoiled  by  two  low  cross  partitions :  one  long  ago  put  in 
keep  the  throng  of  Congressmen  and  place-hunters  from  blu 
dering  into  the  family  rooms ;  the  other  lately  erected  to  g< 
additional  office-room.  It  was  no  part  of  the  plan  of  t 
White  House  that  it  should  be  a  public  office ;  but  with  t 
growth  of  the  country  and  of  the  political  patronage  syste 
the  proper  use  of  the  building  as  a  dwelling  for  the  chi 
magistrate  has  been  more  and  more  subordinated  to  its  offic 
use  as  a  bureau  of  appointments  and  a  rendezvous  for  t 


THE   WHITE    HOUSE.  431 


>oliticians  of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress.  The  family  sitting- 
oom  and  parlor  is  the  oval  library  above  the  Blue  Room — a 
pacious  and  comfortable  apartment.  The  second  room  be- 
rond  is  the  bedroom  occupied  by  Lincoln  and  Grant,  and  the 
me  made  historic  by  Garfield's  long  illness.  President  Arthur 
ccupies  as  a  bedroom  a  chamber  across  the  hall  looking  to- 
vard  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  and  he  has  fitted  up  for  a  private 
ffice  one  of  the  adjoining  chambers,  and  transformed  the 
road  corridor,  between  the  two  lines  of  sleeping-rooms,  into 
i  picture-gallery,  promenade,  and  smoking-room. 

Social  life  at  the  White  House  varies  with  different  admin- 
strations.  President  Johnson  gave  a  public  reception  once  a 
/•eek  during  the  winter  season,  and  even  in  the  stress  and 
gony  of  war  time  President  Lincoln  shook  hands  with  a 
nob  of  two  or  three  thousand  people  surging  through  the 
Mansion  as  often  as  once  a  fortnight.  Now  one  or  two  re- 
eptions  during  a  session  of  Congress  are  thought  sufficient. 
\  New-Year's  Day  reception  is  a  regular  thing,  and  has 
)een  an  unbroken  custom  since  1 80 1.  To  this  come  the 
nembers  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps  first,  all  arrayed  in  their 
plendid  uniforms,  covered  with  gold  lace  and  decorated  with 
;tars  and  crosses  innumerable.  After  the  showily  uniformed 
gentlemen  follow  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Sen- 
itors  and  Congressmen,  officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy, 
Bureau  officials,  and  last  the  general  public.  They  enter  at 
he  door  and  out  of  a  window  on  a  temporary  bridge.  Once 
:>r  twice  each  season  a  reception  to  Senators  and  Representa- 
ives  in  Congress  and  their  families  is  given.  For  these  occa 
sions  cards  are  usually  sent  out.  Not  long  ago  this  custom 
vas  disregarded,  and  in  place  of  cards  an  announcement  of 
:he  event  was  published  in  one  of  the  newspapers.  The  wife 
:>f  an  Eastern  Congressman,  appreciating  the  situation,  said, 


:d 

• 


43 2  THE   WHITE    HOUSE. 

when  presented  to  the  host,  "  Mr.  President,  you  advertised 
for  me  and  I  am  here." 

Formerly  it  was  thought  the  duty  of  the  President  to  invi 
each  Senator  and  Member  of  Congress  to  dinner  once  a  year 
but  as  the  Houses  have  grown  in  membership  this  burdensome 
custom  has  fallen  into  disuse.  President  Johnson  was  the] 
last  to  adhere  to  it.  If  a  President's  dinner  invitations  include 
in  a  single  season  the  Senators,  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme] 
Court,  the  Members  of  the  Cabinet,  the  foreign  Ministers  and 
a  sprinkling  of  the  influential  members  of  the  lower  Housej 
with  the  distinguished  officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  he  is 
now  thought  to  have  done  his  duty  with  sufficient  liberalit)| 
Much  of  the  best  of  White  House  sociability  is  found  at  in 
formal  dinners  and  lunches  at  which  only  a  few  guests  art 
present  with  the  President's  family,  and  at  evenings  "  at 
home,"  for  which  no  cards  are  sent  out.  Then  there  is  cool 
versation  and  music,  and  one  may  meet  a  score  of  famoul 
men  with  their  wives  and  daughters.  Some  Presidents  ait 
remembered  for  the  number  of  their  state  dinners,  others  fof 
their  receptions,  and  others  for  the  cordial  social  tone  theft 
gave  to  the  life  of  the  Mansion  by  small  entertainments,  by 
being  accessible  to  all  the  world  and  by  making  people  fe« 
thoroughly  at  home.  Perhaps  the  most  important  innovation 
in  long  established  precedent  was  made  by  President  Grafl| 
who  broke  through  the  traditional  etiquette  which  forbade  a 
President  to  make  visits.  Formerly  a  President  saw  the  Mr 
side  of  no  house  but  his  own,  and  was  in  some  sort  a  prisoner 
during  his  term  of  office.  He  could  drive  out  or  go  to  the 
theatre,  but  he  could  not  make  a  social  call  or  attend  a  re 
ception  at  a  friend's  house.  Now,  with  good  sense,  he  goes 
out,  makes  calls,  dines  with  other  people  as  freely  as  any 
citizen.  Indeed  the  present  tendency  of  White  House  cuf1 


THE   WHITE    HOUSE.  433 

toms  is  less  toward  formality  and  more  in  favor  of  ease  and 
freedom  of  social  intercourse,  a  tendency  which  is  most  ad 
mirable  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  aristocracy  of  wealth 
in  our  large  cities  is  aping  the  manners  of  European  courts 
and  copying  eagerly  every  form  of  flunkeyism  and  snobbery. 
No  servant  of  the  White  House  wears  a  livery,  unless  the 
coachman's  coat  can  be  called  one,  and  the  ways  of  the  Ex 
ecutive  Mansion  are  much  simpler  now  than  in  the  days  of 
George  Washington,  whose  gilded  coach,  powdered  and  be- 
wigged  coachman  and  footmen  would  create  a  great  sensa 
tion  should  they  appear  in  the  Washington  of  to-day.  And 
probably  the  reader  can  remember  the  lively  fuss  that  was 
raised  in  1840,  when  it  was  known  that  Martin  Van  Buren 
eat  with  gold  spoons.  Presidents  no  longer  smoke  corn-cob 
pipes,  as  Andrew  Jackson  did,  or  put  their  feet  on  the  table 
while  talking  with  visitors,  but  they  are  expected  to  be  quiet 
and  unpretentious  gentlemen  in  their  manners  and  surround 
ings,  nothing  less  nor  more.  No  coats  of  arms  adorn  their 
coach  panels  and  no  soldiers  clear  the  way  or  ride  at  their 
heels.  Lincoln  had  a  guard  of  cavalrymen,  but  because  it  was 
a  period  of  raids,  surprises  and  murderous  plots.  No  other 
President  has  ever  employed  soldiers  about  him.  And  with 
the  coming  into  use  of  the  telephone  the  two  cavalrymen  who 
used  to  wait  at  the  portals  of  the  White  House  to  gallop 
with  messages  to  the  Capitol  or  the  departments  have  disap 
peared  for  ever. 

It  will  doubtless  surprise  many  people  to  learn  that  hospi 
tality,  save  in  the  restricted  sense  of  giving  dinners,  is  almost 
an  impossibility  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  for  the 
reason  that  he  has  no  beds  for  guests.  There  are  only  seven 
sleeping-rooms  in  the  Mansion,  other  than  those  in  the  base 
ment  occupied  by  the  servants.  If  the  President  has  a  mod- 


434  THE   WHITE   HOUSE. 

erately  numerous  household,  as  had  Presidents  Grant,  Haye 
and  Garfield,  he  can  hardly  spare  for  guests  more  than  the  bii 
state  bed-room.  A  President  may  wish  to  invite  an  ambas 
sador  and  his  family,  or  a  party  of  distinguished  traveller 
from  abroad,  to  spend  a  few  days  at  the  White  House,  but  h 
cannot  do  so  without  finding  lodgings  elsewhere  for  member 
of  his  own  household.  Congress  should  hasten  to  remed 
this  by  providing  the  President  with  offices  or  build  him 
new  dwelling  and  give  up  the  White  House  exclusively  t 
business. 

The  present  office  system  in  the  White  House  is  an  affa 
of  quite  recent  growth.  Before  President  Johnson's  time  n 
records  or  files  were  kept  and  there  were  no  clerks.  Pres 
dent  Lincoln  had  two  secretaries,  Mr.  Nicolay  and  Col.  Hay 
but  the  law  recognized  only  one,  the  other  being  an  arm 
officer  detailed  for  special  duty,  and  extra  clerical  work  wn 
done  by  clerks  detailed  from  one  of  the  departments.  No^ 
there  are  four  rooms  occupied  by  the  private  secretary  an 
his  stafT  of  clerks.  Big  ledgers  of  applications  for  office  ar 
posted  up  every  day,  numerous  pigeon  holes  are  filled  wit 
letters  and  petitions,  the  newspapers  are  read  and  scrap  book 
made  ;  one  room  is  devoted  to  telegraph  and  telephone  service 
in  short  here  are  all  the  paraphernalia  of  a  busy  public  offio 
One  of  the  files  of  letters  would  furnish  curious  reading  t 
students  of  human  nature.  It  is  called  the  eccentric  file,  an 
contains  the  epistles  of  advice,  warning  and  gush  mailed  t 
the  President  by  cranks,  fanatics,  absurd  egotists  and  wouk 
be  philanthropists,  and  how  numerous  these  peculiar  peopl 
are  only  those  in  high  station  know.  A  President  gets  tw 
or  three  hundred  letters  a  day,  and  probably  not  one-fourt 
of  them  are  upon  any  subject  that  can  properly  be  brougr 
directly  to  his  personal  notice. 


THE   WHITE    HOUSE. 


435 


The  reader  might  well  suppose  that  in  the  White  House, 
rhere  the  clerks  and  servants  come  into  close  relations  with 
:he  President,  there  would  be  numerous  changes  with  each 
lew  administration  ;  indeed,  there  would  be  more  excuse  for 

>tation  in  office  here  than  in  any  other  branch  of  the  Gov 
ernment  ;  for  a  President  might  naturally  prefer  to  have  old 
friends  in  whom  he  had  learned  to  confide  in  care  of  his  house 

id  correspondence  ;  but  the  wise  rule  of  service  during  good 
>ehavior  obtains  here  to  a  greater  extent  than  in  any  one  of 
:he  departments,  except  perhaps  the  Department  of  State. 

>ne  of  the  servants  dates  back  to  Fillmore's  time  and  has 
seen  thirty  years  of  service ;  one  of  the  clerks  and  one  of  the 
loor-keepcrs  were  appointed  by  Lincoln  ;  others  came  in  under 

rrant.  The  private  secretary  is,  of  course,  always  the  per 
sonal  friend  and  confidant  of  the  President,  and  goes  out  with 
lis  chief;  but  the  rest  of  the  staff  remains,  as  a  rule,  and 
:onstitutes  an  efficient  working  force,  familiar  with  the  pre- 
:edents,  customs,  and  etiquette  of  the  Presidential  office,  and 
valuable  on  this  account  to  a  man  entering  upon  its  try- 
fng  duties. 

Visitors  who  have  business  with  the  President  wait  in  the 

intechamber,  or  walk  impatiently  back  and  forth  in  the  hall. 

|riie  President  receives  in  the  Cabinet  Room — not  the  historic 

•oom  where  Lincoln  signed  the  Proclamation  of  Emancipation. 

Vlr.  Johnson  converted  that  into  the  private  secretary's  room, 

|ind  took  the  former  anteroom  for  the  Cabinet  meetings.     At 

:he  door  stands  a  quiet,  sagacious,  gray-haired  man,  who  has 

in  instinct  for  distinguishing  people  of  consequence  from  the 

general  multitude.       Senators,  judges,  governors,  and  other 

nen  of  note  find  their  cards  taken  directly  to  the  President ; 

:rsons  of  small  account  are  referred  to  a  polite  man  of  color, 


436 


THE   WHITE    HOUSE. 


who  is  the  warden  of  the  private  secretary's  door.  Thei 
business  must  be  explained  to  the  secretary,  and  few  of  then 
ever  get  any  nearer  to  the  seat  of  power.  The  hours  for  caller 
are  from  ten  to  one,  save  on  the  days  of  regular  Cabinet  meet 
ings.  In  the  afternoon  the  President  sees  visitors  by  specia 
appointment,  and  most  of  his  evenings  are  filled  in  the  sam 
way, — the  business  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred  con 
cerning  the  disposition  of  offices.  The  late  President  Garfieli 
once  said  that  he  was  obliged  to  see  an  average  of  about  thirt 
persons  for  every  office  to  be  filled.  If  the  question  was  on 
of  removal,  the  number  was  much  greater,  including  the  friend 
of  the  incumbent  as  well  as  the  candidates  for  the  place.  Ther 
is  an  amusing  story,  not  a  new  one  by  any  means,  of  thi 
method  Mr.  Lincoln  adopted  to  settle  a  contest  over  a  post 
mastership  which  had  greatly  annoyed  him.  There  were  twi 
candidates  in  the  field,  and  petition  after  petition  had  pourei 
in  upon  the  weary  President,  and  delegation  after  delegatiol 
had  rushed  to  the  White  House  to  argue  the  claims  of  th 
rival  aspirants.  Finally,  after  he  had  been  bored  for  half  ai 
hour  by  a  fresh  delegation,  Mr.  Lincoln  said  to  his  secretar) 
"  This  matter  has  got  to  end  somehow.  Bring  a  pair  of  scales. 
The  scales  were  brought.  "  Now  put  in  all  the  petitions  am 
letters  in  favor  of  one  man  and  see  how  much  they  weigh,  am 
then  weigh  the  other  candidate's  papers."  It  was  found  tha 
one  bundle  was  three-quarters  of  a  pound  heavier  than  th 
other.  "  Make  out  the  appointment  at  once  for  the  man  wh< 
has  the  heaviest  papers,"  ordered  the  President,  and  it  wa 
done. 

Such  is  the  White  House  and  the  ways  of  its  occupant 
And  there  is  probably  no  building  in  the  world  where,  in  les 
than  a  century,  more  of  history  has  centered  than  in  thi 


THE   WHITE    HOUSE.  437 

shining  White  Mansion,  screened  by  trees  on  its  city  side  and 
booking  out  from  it's  southern  windows  upon  the  soft  blue 
waters  of  the  Potomac  and  the  historic  hills  of  Virginia 
beyond.  The  shrine  of  the  highest  American  ambition,  it 
remains  to-day  unsullied  by  unworthy  deed  and  glorified  by 
acts  that  were  as  immortal  as  they  were  great  and  grand. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

JOHN  ALEXANDER  LOGAN — His  BIRTH  AND  PARENTAGE — How  THE  Be 
BEGAN  HIS  CAREER — FIERY  INSTINCTS  AT  SCHOOL — THE  WAR  WITH  ME; 
ico — HOME  FROM  THE  FIGHT. 

HALF  a  century  ago  Illinois  was  not  very  much  bette 
than  the  wild  West.  It  was  so  considered  by  the  dwel 
ers  in  the  older  East,  and  almost  every  person  then  living  withi 
the  borders  of  the  State  led  largely  the  life  of  a  frontiersmai 
Settlers  were  scarce  and  few  and  far  between ;  roads  wei 
bad;  forests  were  dense;  wild  animals  were  plentiful,  i 
refining  and  softening  civilization  was  yet  a  long  way  oi 
There  was  about  everything  the  hard,  crude  influences  whicl 
crushing  together,  eventuate  great  men. 

The  long  procession  of  settlers  was  rapidly  finding  its  wa 
from  the  more  crowded  domains  of  the  East,  and  among  th 
earlier  ones  to  come  into  the  new  State  was  a  cultivated  Irisl 
man  by  the  name  of  John  Logan,  a  gentleman  who  practise 
medicine,  and  had  not,  as  common  report  has  so  often  asserte( 
one  single  drop  of  Indian  blood  in  his  veins.  He  purchase 
a  home  near  the  present  town  of  Miirphysboro',  a  little  plac 
among  the  hills  that  hem  in  Jackson  County.  He  was  n 
sooner  settled  than  he  bestirred  himself  to  find  a  gentle  hcai 
who  was  willing  to  share  the  humble  home  with  him.  Hi 
pursuit  resulted  in  meeting  Miss  Elizabeth  Jenkins,  a  Tenne* 
scan,  and  likewise  a  pioneer.  She  evidently  possessed  simile 
views  to  those  held  by  Dr.  Logan,  for  on  his  making  a  forme 
ofifer  of  his  hand  it  was  promptly  accepted. 
(43*) 


^^  <^//.    '<*><  "  . 


GEN.    JOHN   A.    LOGAN. 

On  the  9th  of  February,  1826,  their  first  child,  a  boy,  was 
orn  to  them,  and  was  christened  John  Alexander.  It  is  the 
areer  of  this  infant,  now  an  honored  member  of  the  United 
>tates  Senate  and  the  Republican  nominee  for  Vice-President, 
hat  we  propose  to  consider  here.  Schools  being  scarce  in 
llinois  in  those  days,  Dr.  Logan  took  the  education  of  his 
'oungest  boy  on  himself,  or  placed  him  in  the  log  school-house 
whenever  the  itinerant  teacher  of  those  days  was  about.  It 
vas  not  until  his  fourteenth  year  that  he  received  any  steady 
chooling,  when  he  entered  an  academy  bearing  the  pre- 
entious  title  of  Shiloh  College — an  institution  under  the 
are  and  influence  of  the  Methodist  Church.  Three  years 
ompleted  his  course  of  instruction  at  Shiloh,  and  he  gradu- 
ted  from  there  fairly  well  up  in  his  class. 

As  a  boy  and  lad  he  was  courageous,  full  of  pluck  and 
eady  to  fight,  fond  of  out-door  and  athletic  sports,  a  good 
dlow,  and,  while  not  over-fond  of  his  books,  yet  of  sufficient 
rinciple  to  induce  a  hard  study  of  them.  During  the  three 
ears  that  followed  his  graduation  we  lose  sight  of  him.  He 
eturned  home  and  devoted  himself  to  the  preliminary  study 
>f  the  law. 

In  1846  the  country  was  excited  over  the  Mexican  War. 
Although  it  had  been  foreseen,  there  was  still  enough  of 
xcitement  about  the  actual  inception  of  war  to  attract  to  the 
ervice  many  of  the  able-bodied  men  of  the  day.  Young 
.ogan  was  eager  for  the  fight,  and,  though  but  twenty  years 
•f  age,  was  chosen  the  lieutenant  of  a  company  of  the  First 
llinois  Volunteers.  The  Mexican  campaign,  upon  which  he 
low  entered,  constitutes  the  most  brilliant  epoch  in  the  his- 
ory  of  the  American  army  previous  to  the  year  1861.  That 
campaign  was  the  means  of  forming  nearly  all  the  military 
chiefs  who  have,  on  one  side  or  the  other,  been  noted  in  the 
combats  of  the  Rebellion.  It  inspired  the  stories  of  the 


442  GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN, 

bivouac  fifteen  years  later,  when  the  captain  and  the  lieutenan 
of  1847,  now  in  command  of  volunteer  army  or  army  corps 
found  themselves  opposed  to  the  companions  of  their  earliei 
experiences  in  armies.  The  War  of  1812  had  not  been  < 
glorious  one.  That  of  Mexico,  on  the  contrary,  was  a  seriei 
of  successes  scarcely  interrupted  by  a  few  insignificant  checks 
which  offered  to  the  soldier  all  the  interest  of  a  regular  war 
fare  with  its  pitched  battles,  the  names  of  which  can  b< 
mentioned  and  their  trophies  shown,  and  at  the  same  time  al 
the  attraction  that  adventurous  spirits  find  in  fighting  in  « 
country  but  half  civilized. 

Lieutenant  Logan  found  himself  in  what  he  afterward  came 
to  believe  as  strange  company.  Among  the  most  earnest  ir 
Mexico  and  the  cause  was  Colonel  Jefferson  Davis,  at  th< 
head  of  the  regiment  of  Mississippi  volunteers.  Ambitious 
intriguing,  and  eloquent,  this  old  West-Pointer  was  trying  tc 
achieve,  at  the  same  time,  popularity  with  his  party  and  the 
military  reputation  which,  when  the  crisis  came,  was  to  place 
him  in  possession  of  the  War  Department.  General  Kearney 
General  Fremont,  General  Wool,  General  Taylor,  Captair 
Braxton  Bragg,  Sherman,  Thomas,  Reynolds,  French,  Hum 
phrey  Marshall,  Lee,  Ewell,  McClellan,  Beauregard,  Sumner 
were  among  those  who  carried  the  American  flag  so  victo 
riously  to  the  centre  of  the  country  of  the  Aztecs.  What  2 
comradeship  then  and  in  1861  ! 

With  them,  and  in  a  modest  yet  thoroughly  brave  way, 
John  A.  Logan  bore  his  part.  At  the  engagements  of  Resac2 
de  la  Palma,  Molino  del  Rey,  Chapultepec,  and  before  4he 
massive  walls  of  the  convent  of  San  Pablo  de  Churubusco,  al 
Palo  Alto,  and  Vera  Cruz,  and  at  the  City  of  Mexico,  he 
fought  his  ever-victorious  way.  His  bravery  and  conduct 
earned  him  promotion,  and  he  returned  a  quartermaster.  He 
brought  with  him,  also,  a  record  that  thoroughly  fitted  him 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  443 

the  fights  that  were  to  follow.  Upon  the  unhealthy  soil  of 
e  neighboring  republic  he  acquired  those  qualities  for  con- 
icting  a  combat  that  so  well  distinguished  him  when  at 
'cksburg  and  before  Atlanta,  and  in  the  early  glory  of 
eneral  Logan's  Mexican  career  we  find  an  undimmed 
diance  cast  across  his  second  experience  of  war,  his  later 
reer  of  arms  in  defence  of  his  country. 
Upon  his  return  home  from  the  cactus-fields  of  Mexico  he 
termined  to  pursue  a  career  in  the  law  in  earnest,  to  which 
s  mind  had  already  been  turned  upon  leaving  Shiloh  College, 
lis  study  presented  to  his  disposition  the  attractiveness  of  a 
no  less  than  the  pleasures  of  a  conquest.  He  began  work 
the  office  of  his  uncle  Alexander  M.  Jenkins,  a  Jacksonian 
emocrat  and  a  great  man  in  the  southern  portion  of  his 
ate.  Mr.  Jenkins  had  been  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Illinois, 
d  his  career  was  yet  full  of  promise.  While  thus  employed 
hn  A.  Logan  was  elected,  in  November,  1849,  clerk  of  his 
itive  county — an  office  which  he  held  with  considerable 
edit  until  1850,  and  into  the  canvass  for  which  he  was  led 
/  his  love  of  conquest.  During  that  year,  in  a  further  pros- 
ution  of  his  disposition  to  excel  at  the  Bar,  he  attended  a 
urse  of  law-studies  at  Louisville,  and  at  the  conclusion  of 
ese  he  received  his  sheepskin.  This  completed  his  law- 
aining.  He  then  returned  to  his  home  and  entered  into 
actice  as  a  partner  with  his  uncle.  His  practical  mind  and 
easing  address,  his  exceeding  marked  abilities  as  a  public 
eaker,  speedily  rendered  him  a  general  favorite,  and  in  1852, 
llowing  his  ever-onward  path,  he  was  elected  Prosecuting 
ttorney  of  the  then  Third  Judicial  District  of  Illinois,  and 
tablished  his  residence  at  Benton. 

During  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  he  sought  the  busy 
lirl  of  politics,  into  which  he  naturally  gravitated,  and  was 
ected  to  represent  Jackson  and  Franklin  Counties  in  the 


444  GEN-   JOHN   A-    LOGAN. 

State  Legislature.  He  was  chosen  as  a  Democrat,  to  whi 
party  he  gave  full  allegiance.  In  the  Legislature  he  cut 
decided  figure,  and  his  bold  self-assertion — which  was  £ 
tempered  by  experience  nor  in  the  least  retarded  by  t 
robustness  of  his  character — made  him  a  bold  debater  a 
a  thoroughly  earnest  man  for  whatever  cause  he  chai 
pioned. 

As  if  by  a  singular  chance  of  fate,  in  1856,  like  the  prese 
distinguished  head  of  the  Republican  ticket,  General  Log 
was  brought  into  his  first  contact  with  the  machinery  oi 
Presidential  election.  The  Ninth  Congressional  District 
Illinois  selected  him  Presidential  Elector  on  the  Buchana 
Breckenridge  ticket.  In  the  following  fall  he  was  re-elect 
to  the  Legislature,  and  he  continued  there  his  more  th 
excellent  service  until  1858,  when  the  Democracy  suppo 
ing  the  Douglass  branch  chose  him  as  Representative  frc 
Illinois  in  the  Thirty-sixth  Congress.  This  promotion  was 
natural  one,  rewarding  the  young  lawyer's  active  work  on  t 
stump  with  the  crown  of  rank.  His  election  was  contested  wi 
considerable  spirit,  but  at  that  date  the  Republican  party  h 
hardly  begun  its  really  victorious  march.  Congressman  Log 
received  15,878  votes,  against  2796  votes  for  Phillips.  Durii 
the  winter  of  1860,  his  county  having  been  thrown  out  of  1 
old  district  and  added  to  another,  he  removed  his  residen 
to  Warren,  Williamson  County,  in  order  that  he  might  st 
be  in  his  district.  He  was  promptly  re-elected  to  the  Thirt 
seventh  Congress,  his  career  having  so  satisfied  his  constit 
ents  that  he  received  21,381  against  5439  votes  for  Tinegi 
his  Republican  opponent.  Though  he  was  a  Democrat  and 
believer  in  the  Democratic  doctrine  of  the  day,  at  the  fii 
open  intimation  of  the  coming  trouble  with  the  South  1 
boldly  asserted  that  although  he  thought  and  hoped  th 
Mr.  Lincoln  would  not  be  elected  to  the  Presidency,  y 


GEN.   JOHN   A.    LOGAN.  445 

f-he  were  "he   would    shoulder   his    musket  to  have  him 
naugurated." 

The  patriotism  of  Mr.  Logan  was  not  of  a  superficial  char- 
icter.  To  him,  as  to  others,  the- Civil  War  came  as  a  thunder 
clap  out  of  a  clear  sky.  He  did  not  believe  that  the  sectional 
trife  that  was  waged  so  hotly  could  culminate  in  so  great  a 
catastrophe.  To  him  it  seemed  almost  impossible  that  such 
nadness  could  take  possession  of  the  South.  He  did  not 
•idicule  its  gravity;  but  even  when  it  commenced,  he  re- 
Carded  it  as  something  that  would  soon  subside.  He 
)elieved  that  the  election  of  Lincoln  would  intensify  this 
lostility  and  increase  the  danger,  but  that  it  was  the  thing 
o  do.  He  knew  the  elements  were  gathering  for  an  explo 
sion,  and  that  Destiny  was  weaving  the  threads  of  one  of  her 
Drofoundest  dramas.  The  spirit  of  the  old  war-horse  was 
iroused  in  him,  and  he  determined  to  give  his  life  for  his 
:ountry  if  need  be.  His  resolution  never  faltered  from  that 
lour. 

26 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

CIVIL  HONORS — MINISTER  TO  MEXICO — AGAIN  IN  CONGRESS — ATTACKING 
ANDY  JOHNSON — DEFENDING  HIS  OLD  COMMANDER — CUBA  AND  THE 
CUBANS. 

BEFORE  passing  to  the  field  of  battle  and  the  brilliant 
% deeds  of  General  Logan,  we  will  follow  him  in  his  Con 
gressional  career;  for,  though  he  is  more  endeared  to  the 
hearts  of  the  masses  of  the  American  people  by  his  military 
achievements,  there  can  be  no  question  but  that  his  civil 
record  was  one  of  marked  distinction. 

In  1865  he  was  appointed  Minister  to  Mexico,  but  declined 
the  honor,  and  promptly  too,  as  a  greater  was  close  at  hand. 
He  was  elected  to  the  Fortieth  Congress  from  the  State  at 
large  as  a  Republican,  receiving  203,04$  votes  from  the  Illinois 
electors,  as  against  143,058  given  to  his  Democratic  oppo 
nent,  .Mr.  Derkey.  He  was  re-elected  to  the  Forty-first  Con 
gress,  making  his  total  term  in  the  Lower  House  from  March  4, 
1867,  to  March  4,  1871.  In  the  latter  year  he  was  elected  to 
the  United  States  Senate  to  succeed  Richard  Yates,  a  Repub 
lican.  At  the  expiration  of  his  first  term  a  strong  fight  was 
made  against  his  return  by  the  Democrats  and  some  degene 
rate  Republicans,  and  the  result  was  the  election  of  David 
Davis.  Mr.  Logan  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in  Chicago, 
but  the  next  year  (1878)  he  was  again  called  to  the  United 
States  Senate  to  succeed  R.  J.  Oglesby,  Republican,  and  he 
took  his  seat  on  the  4th  of  March,  1879.  His  term  of  office 
expires  on  the  3d  of  March  next,  when  he  will  assume  the 
(446) 


GEN.   JOHN   A.    LOGAN.  447 

duties   and   honors   of  a   higher   place  as    President  of  the 
Senate. 

Of  his  service  in  Congress  we  may  say  he  at  once  took 
front  rank  as  a  debater  and  was  at  the  very  lead  in  the  dis 
cussion  of  all  the  great  measures  for  the  reconstruction  and 
rehabilitation  of  the  Union.  Of  course  he  could  not  be  a 
Republican  and  not  have  been  as  strong  as  was  possible. 
His  memory  of  the  insults  he  had  received  for  standing  by 
the  Union  was  keen,  and  his  soul  was  more  or  less  embittered. 
The  ugly  wounds  which  had  fallen  upon  him  were  not  calcu 
lated  to  soften  the  touch  of  the  hand  he  laid  upon  the  South. 
And  in  all  of  what  are  now  regarded  as  the  severe  and  ultra 
measures  of  his  party  he  stood  with  Morton  and  Stevens  and 
Wade  and  the  other  Radicals  in  their  advocacy.  To-day  his 
brother-representatives  in  those  fights  are  gone.  He  stands 
almost  alone,  but  his  voice  never  falters  when  the  principles 
for  which  he  fought  are  assailed,  or  the  liberties  and  rights  of 
the  enfranchised  race  are  endangered.  He  was  one  of  the 
managers  of  the  impeachment  trial  of  Andy  Johnson,  being 
elected  by  the  House  over  the  late  President  Garfield,  who 
was  at  first  proposed.  He  was  long  a  member  of  the  Military 
Committee,  which  had  so  much  to  do  with  reconstruction  and 
with  settling  the  business  of  the  war.  His  fine  legal  attain 
ments  also  placed  him  on  the  Judiciary  Committee — a  place 
that  he  was  eminently  fitted  for  by  his  wonderful  activity  and 
excellent  judgment  of  the  country's  needs.  At  an  early 
period  of  his  later  Congressional  career  he  found  himself  one 
of  the  leaders  of  the  House,  and  that  position  he  held  both  in 
the  House,  and  subsequently  in  the  Senate  to  the  present  day. 
Though  strong  in  his  Republicanism,  and  to  some  extent  a 
bitter  partisan,  he  has  never  yet  sacrificed  his  sense  of  right 
to  party  consideration.  His  financial  views  have  always  been 
the  subject  of  more  or  less  criticism  in  the  Eastern  press,  but 


448  GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

they  have  usually  represented  the  sentiments  of  his  constitu 
ency  ;  and,  while  we  may  question  the  wisdom  of  this  course, 
its  expediency  is  unquestioned.  In  1866  he  made  his  first 
financial  speech,  in  which  he  took  strong  grounds  in  favor  of 
the  payment  of  the  national  debt,  both  bonds  and  greenbacks, 
in  gold  coin.  This  position  he  held  until  the  inflation  fever 
of  1874,  when  he  followed  the  popular  Western  movement, 
was  carried  away  by  the  tide,  and  voted  for  the  Inflation  Bill, 
which  was  afterward  vetoed  by  President  Grant.  In  the 
following  year  he  had  come  to  wiser  conclusions  and  better 
understanding,  and  he  was  a  member  of  the  Senate  Commit 
tee  on  Finance  and  favored  the  Sherman  Resumption  Act, 
which  went  into  effect  January  9,  1879. 

General  Logan  was  always  a  leader  in  securing  pension 
legislation.  He  was  one  of  the  most  urgent  advocates  of  the 
Arrears  of  Pension  Bills,  and  he. has  never  failed  at  each  meet 
ing  of  Congress  to  present  a  bill  for  the  equalization  of  boun 
ties.  He  has  been  a  radical  on  the  subject  of  internal 
improvement,  and  has  always  voted  for  liberal  appropriations 
for  rivers  and  harbors  and  given  his  support  to  railroad  land- 
grant  measures.  His  personal  honesty,  however,  through  it 
all  has  never  been  doubted,  and  his  poverty  is  the  best  evi 
dence  of  his  integrity.  Having  been  in  public  life  almost 
since  he  reached  his  majority,  he  has  had  no  time  to  engage 
in  lucrative  employment  for  the  prosecution  of  business  ven 
tures.  As  a  result,  his  entire  accumulation  of  fortune  does 
not  exceed  thirty  thousand  dollars. 

From  the  summary  of  what  Mr.  Logan  has  done  at  the 
national  capital  let  us  turn  to  his  speeches,  a  specific  part. 
And  here  I  regret  the  limitations  of  this  volume  will  permit 
of  only  a  limited  acquaintance  with  his  work ;  for,  while  he 
is  much  more  of  a  worker  than  a  speechmaker,  and  does 
not  load  the  Record  \\r\\\\  "great  speeches,"  he  has,  however, 


GEN.   JOHN   A.    LOGAN.  449 

spoken  when  the  occasion  demanded  it,  and  in  no  uncertain 
method. 

When  the  managers  of  the  impeachment  trial  of  Andrew 
Johnson  were  chosen  from  the  House  of  Representatives,  Mr. 
Logan's  activity  as  a  member  of  the  Judiciary  Committee 
naturally  prompted  him  for  the  place,  and  he  was  so  chosen. 
From  his  argument  on  this  occasion  I  extract  the  following, 
which  well  samples  his  style  and  methods  of  speech,  while 
showing  the  methods  of  his  intellectual  life  and  the  weight 
of  his  reasoning.  This  first  speech  was  delivered  in  the  Sen 
ate  during  the  trial : 

I  wish  to  assure  you,  Senators — I  wish  most  earnestly  and 
sincerely  to  assure  the  learned  and  honorable  counsel  for  the 
defence — that  we  speak  not  only  for  ourselves,  but  for  the 
great  body  of  the  people,  when  we  say  that  we  regret  this 
occasion  and  we  regret  the  necessity  which  has  devolved  this 
duty  upon  us.  Heretofore,  sirs,  it  has  been  the  pride  of  every 
American  to  point  to  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  his  nation.  It 
has  been  his  boast  that  to  that  great  office  have  always  been 
brought  the  most  pre-eminent  purity,  the  most  undoubted 
integrity,  and  the  most  unquestioned  loyalty  which  the  coun 
try  could  produce.  However  fierce  might  be  the  strife  of 
party;  however  clamorous  might  be  the  cry  of  politics;  how 
ever  desperate  might  be  the  struggles  of  leaders  and  of  fac 
tions, — it  has  always  been  felt  that  the  President  of  the  United 
States  was  an  administrator  of  the  law  in  all  its  force  and 
example,  and  would  be  a  promoter  of  the  welfare  of  his  coun 
try  in  all  its  perils  and  adversities.  Such  have  been  the  hopes, 
and  such  has  been  the  reliance,  of  the  people  at  large;  and, 
in  consequence,  the  chief  executive  chair  has  come  to  assume 
in  the  hearts  of  Americans  a  form  so  sacred  and  a  name  so 
spotless  that  nothing  impure  could  attach  to  the  one  and 
nothing  dishonorable  could  taint  the  other.  To  do  aught  or 
to  say  aught  which  will  disturb  this  cherished  feeling  will  be 
to  destroy  one  of  the  dearest  impressions  to  which  our  people 
cling. 


45O  GEN.   JOHN   A.    LOGAN. 

And  yet,  sirs,  this  is  our  duty  to-day.  We  are  here  to  show 
that  President  Johnson,  the  man  whom  this  country  once  hon 
ored,  is  unfitted  for  his  place.  We  are  here  to  show  that  in 
his  person  he  has  violated  the  honor  and  sanctity  of  his  office. 
We  are  here  to  show  that  he  usurped  the  power  of  his  posi 
tion  and  the  emoluments  of  his  patronage.  We  are  here  to 
show  that  he  has  not  only  wilfully  violated  the  law,  but  has 
maliciously  commanded  its  infringement.  We  are  here  to 
show  that  he  has  deliberately  done  those  things  which  he 
ought  not  to  have  done,  and  that  he  has  criminally  left  un 
done  those  things  which  he  ought  to  have  done. 

He  has  betrayed  his  countrymen  that  he  might  perpetuate 
his  power,  and  has  sacrificed  their  interests  that  he  might 
swell  his  authority.  He  has  made  the  good  of  the  people 
subordinate  to  his  ambition,  and  the  harmony  of  the  com 
munity  second  to  his  desires.  He  has  stood  in  the  way 
which  would  have  led  the  dismembered  States  back  to  pros 
perity  and  peace,  and  has  instigated  them  to  the  path  which 
led  to  discord  and  to  strife.  He  has  obstructed  acts  which 
were  intended  to  heal,  and  has  counselled  the  course  which 
was  intended  to  separate.  The  differences  which  he  might 
have  reconciled  by  his  voice  he  has  stimulated  by  his  exam 
ple.  The  questions  which  might  have  been  amicably  settled 
by  his  acquiescence  have  been  aggravated  by  his  insolence; 
and  in  all  those  instances  whereof  in  our  articles  we  com 
plain,  he  has  made  his  prerogatives  a  burden  to  the  common 
wealth  instead  of  a  blessing  to  his  constituents. 

And  it  is  not  alone  that  in  his  public  course  he  has  been 
shameless  and  guilty,  but  that  his  private  conduct  has  been 
incendiary  and  malignant.  It  is  not  only  that  he  has  notori 
ously  broken  the  law,  but  that  he  has  criminally  scoffed  at 
the  framers  of  the  law.  By  public  harangue  and  by  political 
arts  he  has  sought  to  cast  odium  upon  Congress  and  to  ensure 
credit  for  himself;  and  thus,  in  a  Government  where  equal 
respect  and  dignity  should  be  observed  in  reference  to  the 
power  and  authority  conferred  upon  each  of  its  several  depart 
ments,  he  has  attempted  to  subvert  their  just  proportions  and 
to  arrogate  to  himself  their  respective  jurisdictions.  It  is  for 
these  things,  Senators,  that  to-day  he  stands  impeached;  and 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  45  I 

it  is  because  of  these  that  the  people  have  bid  us  prosecute. 
That  we  regret  it,  I  have  said ;  that  they  regret  it,  I  repeat ; 
and  though  it  tears  away  the  beautiful  belief  with  which  like 
a  drapery  they  had  invested  the  altar,  yet  they  feel  that  the 
time  has  come  when  they  must  expose  and  expel  the  sacri- 
egious  priest  in  order  to  protect  and  preserve  the  purity  of 
:he  temple.  .  .  . 

There  has  been  too  much  dallying  with  treason  already. 
[f,  but  a  few  short  years  ago,  traitors  had  been  quickly  seized 
and  speedily  punished,  there  would  never  have  been  a  shot 
fired  in  rebellion.  If  plotters  had  been  made  to  feel  the  early 
gripe  of  the  law,  there  never  would  have  been  a  resort  to 
arms.  When  we  looked  back  and  recalled  the  memories  of 
our  battlefields ;  when  we  saw  the  carnage  amid  the  slain,  the 
unutterable  woe  of  the  wounded;  when  we  remembered  the 
shriek  of  the  widow  and  the  sob  of  the  orphan ;  when  we 
reflected  on  the  devastation  of  our  land  and  the  burdens  now 
on  our  people ;  when  we  turned  us  about  and  saw  in  every 
direction  the  miseries  and  the  mischiefs  which  follow  every 
war,  no  matter  how  just,  and  when  we  remind  ourselves  that 
all  this  would  not  have  been  had  treason  been  executed  for  its 
overt  acts  before  yet  its  hands  were  red ;  and  when  we  felt,  as 
we  do  all  feel,  that  to  delay  might  bring  all  this  and  more 
upon  us, — we  could  not,  and  did  not,  pause.  We  urged  this 
trial  at  "  railroad  speed."  In  view  of  such  results,  self-preser 
vation  would  have  dictated  that  we  should  ask  for  "  lightning 
speed."  Ought  he  to  complain  ?  If  he  is  guilty,  then  there 
is  no  speed  too  great  for  his  deserts.  If  he  is  innocent,  there 
is  none  too  great  for  his  deliverance.  .  .  . 

Mr.  President,  in  the  case  at  bar,  are  we  to  be  told  that  this 
violation  of  law  carries  with  it  no  bad  motive — that  the  law 
was  broken  merely  to  test  its  strength  ?  Is  a  man  to  be  per 
mitted  to  break  a  law  under  the  pretence  of  testing  its  con 
stitutionality?  Are  the  opinions  of  a  man  against  the  sound 
ness  of  a  law  to  shield  him  from  punishment  for  the  violation 
of  said  law  ?  If  so,  the  opinion  of  the  criminal  becomes  the 
rule  by  which  you  are  to  try  him,  instead  of  the  law  which 
he  has  broken.  If  this  doctrine  be  established,  every  traitor 
in  the  land  will  find  a  complete  justification  for  his  many 


452  GEN.    JOHN   A.    LOGAN. 

crimes  against  the  Government  of  the  United  States  in  this — 
that  he  believed  that  secession  was  no  violation  of  the  Con 
stitution.  Doubtless  every  robber  and  murderer  has  some 
reason  by  which  he  justifies  himself  in  his  own  mind  for  the 
commission  of  his  crimes.  But  is  that  a  justification  or 
excuse  in  law  ?  Had  Booth  the  assassin  been  captured  alive, 
doubtless  on  his  trial  he  would  have  said  that  he  thought  he 
*was  doinsr  no  wrong1  in  murdering"  the  President  could  he 

o  o  £> 

thereby  have  advanced  the  interests  of  his  friends  in  the 
South,  and  would  have  also  stated,  no  doubt,  that  he  was 
advised  by  his  friends  to  commit  the  act.  And  the  accused 
claims  the  same  as  an  excuse  for  his  conduct.  He  claims  that 
he  was  advised  by  his  ministers  at  the  heads  of  the  different 
branches  of  the  executive  department.  But,  sir,  in  neither 
case  can  such  an  excuse  be  considered  as  in  the  least  manner 
forming  any  justification  or  excuse  in  law.  This  plea,  answer, 
or  excuse  pleaded,  if  believed  by  the  President  and  his  learned 
counsel  as  being  an>?  excuse  whatever  for  his  violations  of  law, 
we  may  here  get  some  clue  to  the  hesitancy  in  the  trial  of 
Jefferson  Davis,  the  great  criminal  of  the  rebellion,  inasmuch 
as  he  certainly  believed  that  he  was  doing  no  wrong  in  break 
ing  the  law,  as  his  opinion  was  that  he  was  maintaining  a 
great  principle.  As  the  counsel,  or  a  part  of  them,  who  now 
defend  the  President  on  this  principle  must  prosecute  Jeff 
Davis  against  this  principle,  it  would  seem  that  by  adopting 
this  theory  they  will  succeed  in  releasing  both  instead  of  con 
victing  either. 

Sirs,  adopt  this  new  theory,  and  you  thereby  unhinge  the 
law,  open  wide  the  prison  gates,  and  give  safe-conduct  to 
every  criminal  in  the  land,  no  matter  how  high  or  low  his 
position,  or  how  grave  or  small  his  offences.  .  .  . 

At  the  time  of  the  formation  of  our  Government,  so  jealous 
were  the  people  of  their  rights,  and  so  fearful  lest  the  Presi 
dent  might  assume  undue  authority  and  obtain  the  power  of 
a  monarch,  that  it  was  only  by  the  most  strenuous  exertions 
of  the  friends  of  the  proposed  Constitution,  in  triumphantly 
showing  that  this  power  of  removal  made  him  subservient  to 
Congress,  that  the  public  mind  became  reconciled  and  the 
Constitution  was  finally  accepted  by  the  people.  They  seemed 


GEN.   JOHN   A.    LOGAN.  453 

ven  then  to  well  understand  their  rights.  The  great  danger 
ttending  the  appointing  power  was  perceived.  Then,  as  now, 
he  people  feared  the  enormous  patronage  of  the  Executive 
:  left  unrestricted,  and  they  appreciated  the  fact  so  patent 
o-day — that  lust  for  power  would  be  likely  to  corrupt  officials 
md  cause  them  to 

"  Crook  the  pregnant  hinges  of  the  knee, 
Where  thrift  may  follow  fawning."  .  .  . 

Human  genius  has  not  yet  been  able  to  frame  a  rule  for 
government  in  which  all  the  powers  are  so  perfectly  defined 
nd  balanced  as  to  be  literally  equal.     Our  own  Constitution 
more  nearly  approaches  such  a  form  than  any  other  that  has 
>een  given  to  the  world;   but  even  in  this  instrument,  framed 
>y  the  wisest  patriots  of  the  age,  one  branch  in  the  Govern 
ment  is  made  superior  to  the  others.     This  superiority  follows 
rom   the   nature  of   the   duties   with  which   each   branch   is 
ntrusted  and  the   necessity  of  some  controlling  influence — 
the  exponent  of  the   people's  will — in  order  to  check  usurpa 
tions  and  correct  abuses  which  in  a  republic  are  likely  to  arise 
in  departments  not  directly   responsible  to  the  people.     The 
grand  object  to  be  attained    by  our  Constitution  was  the  con 
solidation  of  the  several    States  into  one  nation  by  such  a 
compact  as  would  secure  "  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest 
number."     It  was  to  be   a    Government   of  the  people  for 
the  people.     The  experience  of  ages  had  shown  the  necessity 
of  a  division  of  powers,  and  that  one  of  these  powers  should 
possess  an  influence  superior  to  that  of  the  others ;  but  no 
one  power  was  made  supreme  or  wholly  independent  of  its 
contemporaries.     The  judiciary  is  eminently  "conservative" 
in  its  character ;  it  is  dependent  upon  the  executive  and  legis 
lative  for  its  existence   and   perpetuity,   is   without  creative 
authority,  and   its   duties  are   mainly  those    of  an  advisory 
character. 

That  controlling  influence  in  this  great  trinity  of  powers 
which  form  our  Government  is  the  people,  acting  through 
their  chosen  Representatives  in  Congress  assembled.  Even 
the  most  casual  reader  of  the  Constitution  must  see  that 
such  was  the  intent  of  its  framers,  from  the  wide  range  of 


454  GEN-   JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

authority  delegated,  even  to  regulating  the  executive  and 
judiciary. 

The  Constitution  lays  down  this  great  fundamental  princi 
ple  :  "All  power  is  derived  from  the  people."  Congress  is  the 
only  branch  in  our  Government  chosen  directly  from  and  by 
the  people.  The  frequency  of  elections  enables  the  people  to 
change  or  ratify  any  policy  that  Congress  may  adopt  by 
retiring  its  members  or  endorsing  their  acts  by  re-election. 
This  makes  the  legislative  the  mouthpiece  of  the  people;  to 
the  people  alone  is  Congress  responsible,  and  it  is  through 
Congress  the  people  are  immediately  represented  in  the  Gov 
ernment.  The  magnitude  of  the  duties  assigned  to  the  legis 
lative,  and  the  authority  given  that  branch  over  the  executive 
and  judiciary,  aside  from  the  imperative  necessity,  fully  sus 
tain  the  assumption  that  the  legislative  is  the  superior  power 
in  the  three  departments  of  Government  mentioned  in  our 
Constitution.  Indeed,  upon  no  other  theory  could  the  Gov 
ernment  be  sustained.  This  control  of  the  people  in  their 
Government  is  the  great  feature  in  republicanism ;  this  power 
of  the  many  is  the  distinctive  character  of  our  Constitution. 
While  the  power  of  the  executive  is  qualified  and  restricted 
by  the  legislative,  the  authority  of  the  latter  is  uncontrolled 
by  any  other  department.  It  makes  and  unmakes  ;  it  removes 
presidents,  judges,  and  other  civil  officers  who  may  be  guilty 
of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  and  sweeps  away  all 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  nation's  advancement  and  pros 
perity,  and  from  its  verdict,  in  a  case  of  trial  as  this,  there  is 
no  appeal.  .  .  . 

It  is  a  fundamental  principle  of  this  Government  that  there 
shall  be  a  known  rule  and  law  by  which  not  only  the  conduct 
of  the  citizen,  but  all  officers,  including  the  Chief  Magistrate 
of  the  nation,  shall  be  regulated  and  governed.  This  is  a  Gov 
ernment  of  laws,  and  not  of  men.  It  is  this  principle  which 
distinguishes  this  republican  form  of  Government  of  ours 
from  the  monarchies  of  the  Old  World. 

I  repeat,  sirs,  this  is  a  Government  of  laws,  and  not  of  men. 
Never  before,  I  believe,  was  it  known  in  this  enlightened 
country  that  the  executive  head  of  the  nation  had  the  arro 
gance  to  take  upon  himself  not  only  the  executive,  but  the 


GEN.    JOHN   A.    LOGAN.  455 

judicial,  functions  of  the  Government.  No,  sir!  Under  the 
smiles  of  that  merciful  Providence  who  had  watched  over  and 
guided  the  destinies  of  the  people  we  have  hitherto  been  ex 
empt — and  I  trust  in  God  shall  hereafter  continue  to  be — from 
the  affliction  of  that  most  direful  scourge  a  Chief  Executive 
with  full  discretionary  powers  to  execute  a  law  or  declare  it 
unconstitutional  at  will.  It  is  not  that  which  pleaseth  nor 
that  which  is  most  consonant  with  the  humor  and  inclination 
of  the  President,  but  the  law,  which  should  be  the  rule  of  his 
conduct.  I  trust,  sirs,  that  the  time  will  never  again  come  in 
the  history  of  this  nation  when  by  elevation  to  the  Presidency 
any  one  will  become  so  infatuated  as  to  imagine  himself  inde 
pendent  of  that  rule,  or  to  set  up  his  own  private  judgment  or 
opinions  as  the  only  standard  by  which  he  will  be  guided  or 
governed.  Then,  sirs,  whether  we  shall  in  the  future  witness 
this  attempt  in  other  Executives  depends  upon  your  decision 
upon  the  issues  in  this  case  involved.  Being  the  grand  tri 
bunal  from  which  there  can  be  no  appeal,  you  should  properly 
reflect  the  law  and  the  testimony.  The  pure  stream  of  public 
justice  should  flow  gently  along  undisturbed  by  any  false  pre 
tence  on  the  part  of  the  defendant  or  false  sympathy  upon  your 
part.  The  President  should  not  be  permitted  to  play  the  necro 
mancer  with  this  Senate  as  he  did  with  the  country  through 
the  law  department  of  the  executive  branch  of  the  Govern 
ment,  whereby  he  raised  a  tempest  that  he  himself  could  not 
control.  Well  might  he  have  exclaimed, 

"  I  am  the  rider  of  the  wind, 

The  stirrer  of  the  storm ; 
The  hurricane  I  left  behind 
Is  yet  with  lightning  warm." 

But,  thanks  to  the  wisdom  of  our  far-seeing  patriot  sires, 
you,  Senators,  are  by  our  constitution  made  the  great  power 
that  shall  calm  the  tempest  and  so  direct  the  lightning  that  its 
strokes  shall  be  warded  off  from  the  people  and  fall  only  upon 
the  head  of  their  oppressor. 

Yes,  Senators,  we  fervently  hope  and  confidently  rely  upon 
you  to  calm  the  storm  and  prevent  the  temple  of  Liberty 
being  dashed  to  earth  by  the  hurricane.  We  cannot,  will  not, 
believe  that  we  are  or  will  be  mistaken  in  those  in  whom  we 


456  GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

now  place  our  trust.  Methinks  I  hear  a  voice  coming  up 
from  the  lowly  pillows  of  patriotism's  immortal  martyrs,  say 
ing,  "  Be  of  good  cheer,  all  will  yet  be  well."  We  cannot,  will 
not,  believe  that  the  respondent's  unjust  appeals  will  avail  him 
now.  He  appeals  to  the  truth  of  history  to  vindicate  him  in 
the  acts  of  former  Executives,  but  Truth  itself  rises  up  from 
the  midst  of  the  mass  of  testimony  here  adduced,  and  says 
even  in  this  appeal  he  has  polluted  God's  holy  sanctuary;  and 
when  on  justice"  he  relies  to  protect  him  and  lift  him  up  out 
of  his  difficulties,  Justice  comes  forward  in  all  her  majesty 
and  declares  that  he  has  not  only  trampled  the  laws  of  man, 
but  of  God,  under  foot.  When  he  indirectly  asks  that  the 
mantle  of  charity  shall  by  you  be  thrown  over  his  shortcom 
ings  and  violations  of  law,  Clemency  steps  forward  and  with 
a  loud  voice  cries,  "  Forbearance  has  ceased  to  be  a  virtue. 
Mercy  to  this  criminal  would  be  cruelty  to  the  State." 

From  the  I4th  day  of  April,  1865,  to  this  day,  as  shown  by 
the  testimony,  he  has  been  consistent  only  with  himself  and 
the  evil  spirits  of  his  Administration.  False  to  the  people 
who  took  him  from  obscurity  and  conferred  on  him  splendor, 
who  dug  him  from  that  oblivion  to  which  he  had  been  con 
signed  by  the  treason  of  his  State,  and  gave  him  that  distinc 
tion  which,  as  disclosed  by  his  subsequent  acts,  he  never 
merited  and  has  so  fearfully  scandalized,  disgraced,  and  dis 
honored  ;  false  to  the  memory  of  him  whose  death  made  him 
President;  false  to  the  principles  of  our  contest  for  national 
life;  false  to  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  land  and  his 
oath  of  office ;  filled  with  all  vanity,  lust,  and  pride ;  substi 
tuting,  with  the  most  disgusting  self-complacency  and  ignor 
ance,  his  own  coarse,  brutalized  will  for  the  will  of  the  people, 
and  substituting  his  vulgar,  vapid,  arid  ignorant  utterances  for 
patriotism,  statesmanship,  and  faithful  public  service, — he  has 
completed  his  circle  of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors;  and, 
thanks  to  Almighty  God !  by  the  embedded  wisdom  of  our 
fathers  found  in  the  Constitution  of  our  country,  he  stands 
to-day  with  all  his  crimes  upon  his  head,  uncovered  before 
the  world,  at  the  bar  of  this  the  most  august  tribunal  on  earth, 
to  receive  the  awful  sentence  that  awaits  him  as  a  fitting  pun 
ishment  for  the  crimes  and  misdemeanors  of  which  he  stands 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  457 

npeached  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  the  name  and 
n  behalf  of  all  the  people. 

Here,  Senators,  we  rest  our  case ;  here  we  leave  the  great 
riminal  of  the  age.     In  your  hands,  as  wisely  provided  by 
le  charter  of  our  liberties,  this  offender  against  the  Constitu- 
on,  the  laws,  liberty,  peace,  and  public  decency  of  our  country 
i  now  left  to  be  finally  and,  in  the  name  of  all  the  people,  we 
umbly  trust,  disposed  of  for  ever,  in  such  manner  as  no  more 
)  outrage  the  memories  of  an  heroic  and  illustrious  past,  nor 
dim  the  hopes,  expectations,  and  glories  of  the  coming  future. 
Let  us,  we  implore  you,  no  more  hear  his  resounding  footfalls 
in  the  temple  of  American  constitutional  liberty,  nor  have  the 
vessels  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  our  fathers  polluted  by 
his   unholy  hands.      Let   not  the  blood  of  a  half  million  of 
heroes  who  went  to  their  deaths  on  the  nation's  battlefields 
for  the  nation's  life  cry  from  the  ground  against  us  on  account 
of  the  crimes  permitted   by  us  and  committed  by  him  whom 
we  now  leave  in  your  hands.     Standing  here  to-day  for  the 
last  time  with  my  brother-managers  to  take  leave  of  this  case 
and  of  this  great  tribunal,  I  am  penetrated  and  overwhelmed 
with  emotion.     Memory  is  busy  with  the  scenes  of  the  years 
which  have  intervened  between  March  4,  1861,  and  this  day. 
Our  great  war,  its  battles,  and  ten  thousand  incidents,  without 
mental  bidding  and  beyond  control  almost,  pass  in  panoramic 
view  before  me.     As  in  the  presence  of  those  whom  I  have 
seen  fall  in  battle  as  we  rushed  to  victory,  or  die  of  wounds  or 
disease  in  hospital  far  from  home  and  the  loved  ones,  to  be 
seen  no  more  until  the  grave  gives  up  its  dead,  have  I  en 
deavored  to  discharge  my  humble  part  in  this  great  trial. 

The  world  in  after-times  will  read  the  history  of  the  admin 
istration  of  Andrew  Johnson  as  an  illustration  of  the  depth 
to  which  political  and  official  perfidy  can  descend.  Amid  the 
unhealed  ghastly  scars  of  war;  surrounded  by  the  weeds  of 
widowhood  and  cries  of  orphanage  ;  associating  with  and  sus 
tained  by  the  soldiers  of  the  republic,  of  whom  at  one  time 
he  claimed  to  be  one  ;  surrounded  by  the  men  who  had  sup 
ported,  aided,  and  cheered  Mr.  Lincoln  through  the  darkest 
hours  and  sorest  trials  of  his  sad  yet  immortal  administration 
— men  whose  lives  had  been  dedicated  to  the  cause  of  justice, 


458  GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

law,  and  universal  liberty,  the  men  who  had  nominated  and 
elected  him  to  the  second  office  in  the  nation  at  a  time  when 
he  scarcely  dared  visit  his  own  home  because  of  the  traitorous 
instincts  of  his  own  people, — yet,  as  shown  by  his  official  acts, 
messages,  speeches,  conversations,  and  associations,  almost 
from  the  time  when  the  blood  of  Lincoln  was  warm  on  the 
floor  of  Ford's  theatre,  Andrew  Johnson  was  contemplating 
treason  to  all  the  fresh  fruits  of  the  overthrown  and  crushed 
rebellion,  and  an  affiliation  with  and  a  practical  official  and 
hearty  sympathy  for  those  who  had  cost  hecatombs  of  slain 
citizens,  billions  of  treasure,  and  an  almost  ruined  country. 
His  great  aim  and  purpose  has  been  to  subvert  law,  usurp 
authority,  insult  and  outrage  Congress,  reconstruct  the  rebel 
States  in  the  interests  of  treason,  insult  the  memories  and 
resting-places  of  our  heroic  dead,  outrage  the  feelings  and 
deride  the  principles  of  the  living  men  who  aided  in  saving 
the  Union,  and  deliver  all  snatched  from  wreck  and  ruin  into 
the  hands  of  unrepentent,  but  by  him  pardoned,  traitors. 

But,  all  honor  to  the  servants  of  a  brave  and  loyal  people, 
he  has  been  in  strict  conformity  to  the  Constitution  arrested 
in  his  career  of  crime,  impeached,  arraigned,  tried,  and  here 
awaits  your  sentence.  We  are  not  doubtful  of  your  verdict. 
Andrew  Johnson  has  long  since  been  tried  by  the  whole  peo 
ple  and  found  guilty,  and  you  can  but  confirm  that  judgment 
already  pronounced  by  the  sovereign  American  people. 

Henceforth  our  career  of  greatness  will  be  unimpeded. 
Rising  from  our  baptism  of  fire  and  blood,  purified  by  our 
sufferings  and  trials  under  the  approving  smiles  of  Heaven, 
and  freed,  as  we  are,  from  the  crimes  of  oppression  and  wrong, 
the  patriot  heart  looks  outward  and  onward  for  long  and  ever- 
increasing  national  prosperity,  virtue,  and  happiness. 

In  1870  the  House  of  Representatives  had  under  consider 
ation  the  Cuban  question.  It  was  impossible  for  such  a  ques 
tion  to  pass  Mr.  Logan  unnoticed.  And,  as  Cuba  is  again  on 
the  tapis  and  her  unfortunate  condition  again  a  matter  of  dis 
cussion,  I  am  tempted  to  quote  Mr.  Logan's  remarks  rather 
fully.  It  was  on  June  15  when  he  said: 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  459 

I  tell  that  gentleman  to-day  that  I  have  in  my  hand  a  copy 
f  their  constitution,  and  it  is,  as  General  Banks  says,  as  good 

constitution  in  some  respects  as  that  under  which  we  live, 
lie  twenty-fourth  article  of  that  constitution  is  in  these  words : 

"All  the  inhabitants  of  the  republic  of  Cuba  are  absolutely  free." 

It  is  a  constitution  at  war  with  slavery  and  despotism  and 
i  favor  of  freedom.  You  talk  to  me  about  my  sympathies, 
tell  you  I  am  in  favor  of  this  struggling  people — in  favor  of 
berty  and  opposed  to  monarchy  and  slavery  everywhere. 
And  all  of  us  should  be  the  same,  if  we  were  as  we  were 
a  few  months  ago.  A  vote  to-day  for  the  independence  or  for 
the  recognition  of  the  fact  that  there  is  war  in  Cuba  is  a  vote 
for  freectom  against  slavery,  a  vote  in  favor  of  republican  prin 
ciples  and  republican  institutions  and  against  monarchy  and 
oppression.  That  is  one  of  the  questions  which  is  to-day 
before  us  and  the  American  people. 

It  is  not  a  question  as  to  who  wrote  the  message  or  who 
issued  the  Cuban  bonds,  or  what  we  have  done  or  what  any 
body  has  done — that  is  not  the  issue ;  but  there  is  a  higher 
and  a  greater  issue,  and  that  issue  is  the  liberty  of  man,  free 
dom  of  speech,  freedom  of  the  press,  universal  liberty  of  white 
and  red  and  black.  The  rights  of  all  men  to  meet  together 
and  organize  themselves  into  a  free  government,  to  be  free  as 
you  and  I  are  free — that  is  one  of  the  issues  which  is  before 
this  House. 

But  it  is  said  they  hold  no  seaport,  and  if  you  undertake  to 
go  to  see  them,  to  make  them  a  visit,  you  must  go  through 
the  Spanish  lines.  How  strange  that  is !  Does  the  gentleman 
from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Butler]  remember  that  a  few  years 
ago,  when  he  and  I  were  on  the  same  side  of  a  similar  ques 
tion,  President  Juarez  of  Mexico  was  up  in  the  mountains  of 
Chihuahua  with  only  twenty  pack-mules,  carrying  the  gov 
ernment  of  Mexico  in  his  hat,  while  Maximilian  held  the 
country  with  more  than  forty  thousand  men  ? 

What  was  I  in  favor  of  doing  then  ?  What  was  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Union  in  favor  of  doing?  What  were  we  all  in 
favor  of  then?  I  was  appointed  Minister  to  Mexico,  and  I 
refused  to  accept  the  position  for  reasons  which  it  is  not 


460  HEX.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

necessary  to  mention  now.  There  was  no  republican  govern 
ment  in  Mexico ;  it  had  no  army  there — nothing  except  what 
Juarez  carried  in  his  pocket.  The  government  there  was  the 
government  of  Maximilian,  and  that  was  a  monarchy. 

Did  the  American  people  fail  to  discriminate  then  ?  Was 
there  an  American  soldier  [turning  fiercely  upon  Butler]  who 
was  then  willing  to  recognize  Maximilian,  or  indulged  in 
sneers  at  the  bonds  of  the  Mexican  republic  ? 

And  how  was  it  when  Texas  rebelled  against  Mexico, 
although  Mexico  then  had  a  government  republican  in 
form?  Every  man  who  did  not  favor  the  independence  of 
Texas,  who  did  not  take  the  ground  that  she  ought  to  be  free, 
went  down  doomed  in  the  gloom  of  political  night,  and  has 
never  been  heard  of  again. 

You  say,  again,  that  the  Cubans  have  no  seaport  and  collect 
no  revenues.  Let  me  apply  to  your  argument  your  own  logic. 
How  many  seaports  had  the  Southern  Confederacy  in  1863 
and  1864?  Where  did  they  have  one  not  guarded  by  us? 
We  blockaded  them  everywhere  along  the  immense  line  of 
coast.  They  had  no  ports  anywhere  that  they  could  control 
so  as  to  collect  revenues  from  imports.  Still,  they  were  recog 
nized  as  a  power  by  every  nation  on  earth4  I  believe,  except 
our  own,  and,  although  we  conquered  and  crushed  them,  we 
nevertheless  recognized  them  as  having  the  rights  of  belliger 
ents. 

As  I  have  said,  the  question,  then,  is  this :  If  there  is  war 
in  Cuba  between  the  people  there  termed  insurgents  and  the 
monarchy  of  Spain,  it  is  our  duty  to  side  with  the  one  or  the 
other,  and  the  question  is  now  for  us  to  decide  which.  But 
Spain  is  a  government,  says  the  gentleman.  We  must  recog 
nize  it,  furnish  it  with  gunboats,  with  powder  and  munitions 
of  war  to  be  used  against  the  Cubans.  Yes,  Spain  is  a  gov 
ernment,  so  called,  and  the  woman  who  was  at  its  head  a  short 
time  ago  has  been  driven  from  her  throne  and  is  now  a  wan 
derer  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  not  permitted  to  return  to 
her  home.  Yet  to-day  that  government  is  a  monarchy 
controlled  by  a  "  ring"  comprised  of  Prim  and  others.  And 
while  it  stands  forth  patent  before  the  world  that  this  so- 
called  government  of  Prim  £  Co.  is  nothing  more  nor  less 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  461 

ban  a  struggling  anarchy  within  itself,  scarcely  knowing  from 
ne  day  to  another  who  is  at  its  head  or  who  is  its  ruler,  you 
ecognize  it  with  all  its  oppressions  ;  you  must  aid  that  old, 
roken-down,  effete  ghost  of  a  government  to  oppress  and 
onquer  these  brave  people  who  are  pouring  out  their  blood 
nd  treasure  in  behalf  of  liberty  and  independence. 

But,  sir,  I  think   I  can   show  the  reason  why  there  is  so 

nuch  opposition  to  recognizing  the  belligerency  of  Cuba.     It 

3  not  because  we  are  afraid  of  a  war.     Has  Spain  made  war 

with  the  other  powers  that  have  recognized  Cuba?     Did  we 

make  war  with    Spain   when    she   recognized   the   Southern 

people  who  were  fighting    against    this  Government?      No, 

sir;    what   is    proposed    is    simply  to    recognize  the  Cubans 

as  having  the  rights  of  civilized  warfare.     That  is  all  there 

is  in  the  proposition.      Now,  let  us  see  the  reasons  of  this 

opposition. 

Certain  gentlemen  want  Cuba.  They  are  reaching  out  for 
it  now.  They  almost  have  their  grasp  on  it — or,  at  least,  a 
portion  of  it.  I  can  now  in  my  imagination  see  that  fair 
island  of  the  Antilles  as  it  glides  away  from  under  the 
possession  of  the  monarchical  rule  of  Spain  and  from  the 
control  of  the  people  who  are  contending  there,  and  slide  into 
the  hands  of  Somebody — I  cannot  say  whom — over  in  New 
York.  It  is  a  nice  little  job,  and  out  of  the  transaction  large 
sums  of  money  will  be  made  and  increase  of  individual  power- 
and  influence  be  gained.  Does  not  the  gentleman  from  Mas 
sachusetts  [Mr.  Butler]  know  that  if  we  recognized  Cuban 
belligerency  those  men  in  that  island  will  have  an  independ 
ent  Government  of  their  own  ?  They  do  not  want  to  annex 
themselves  to  us ;  they  want  to  be  free  and  independent,  as 
they  ought  to  be.  But  if  you  recognize  Cuba,  what  is  the 
result  ?  Why,  the  result  is,  or  will  be,  that  its  patriotic  inhab 
itants  will  escape  the  personal  and  predial  tithes  or  tribute  of 
the  ring  which  has  this  fruitful  island  in  their  mind's  eye.  A 
certain  gentleman  has  gone  from  New  York  to  Madrid  in  the 
interest  of  a  few  individuals-,  and  is  there — to-day,  perhaps — 
making  a  bargain  with  Prim  for  the  purchase  of  Cuba  if  they 
can  hold  it  under  the  protection  of  the  Spanish  government. 
If  it  can  be  purchased,  what  then  ?  It  is  to  be  turned  over, 
27 


462  GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

against  the  consent  of  the  Cubans,  to  the  United  States  Gov 
ernment  for  the  trifle  of  one  hundred  million  dollars;  this  to 
be  collected  out  of  the  revenues  of  that  island. 

This  is  the  secret,  this  the  "  milk  in  the  cocoanut,"  this  the 
"  meat  in  the  egg/'  Now,  let  the  gentleman  say,  if  he  can, 
that  this  is  not  the  fact — that  Somebody  is  now  at  Madrid 
trying  to  make  this  arrangement.  I  happen  to  know  some 
thing  of  the  secret  workings  of  these  plans.  There  is  no  value 
to  these  Cuban  bonds  which  are  afloat  in  such  profusion,  as 
the  gentleman  says;  but  if  they  get  the  island  of  Cuba  in  their 
hands,  there  will  be  no  necessity  for  bonds.  Then  the  island 
itself 'is  as  rich  a  treasure  as  the  mines  of  Golconda.  Cuba, 
with  its  broad  acres,  its  beautiful  vales,  its  rich  soil,  its  count 
less  resources,  is  expected  to  pass  into  the  hands  of  a  few  men 
to  whom  it  will  be  a  mine  of  wealth. 

Let  me  appeal  to  this  House  not  to  allow  this  scheme  to  be 
carried  out.  While  this  brave  band  of  patriots  are  wrestling 
for  the  dearest  rights  known  to  man,  the  right  of  self-govern 
ment,  should  we  hesitate  to  make  the  simple  and  single  decla 
ration  which  will  save  them  from  being  robbed  and  murdered 
day  after  day?  Can  we,  with  all  our  boasted  principles  of 
liberty,  justice,  and  equality  to  all  men,  stand  tamely  by  and 
witness  these  people,  within  sight  of  our  own  shores,  follow 
ing  the  example  which  we  have  furnished,  hanged,  drawn,  and 
quartered  with  most  atrocious  brutality,  without  the  protection 
of  any  flag  on  God's  earth,  and  not  raise  our  voice  against  the 
inhumanity  so  much  as  to  declare  that  there  is  a  contest — a 
war?  This  poor  boon  is  all  they  ask,  and  in  my  judgment  it 
can  be  denied  to  them  by  none  but  heartless  men. 

In  what  I  am  saying  I  have  no  contest  with  the  President. 
I  am  his  friend,  as  I  ever  have  been.  I  have  no  contest  with 
Mr.  Fish,  or  with  anybody  else.  I  have  no  warfare  with  those 
who  differ  from  me;  they  have  their  opinions,  and  I  am  enti 
tled  to  mine.  I  look  upon  General  Grant  as  a  good  man,  but 
I  think  that  on  this  questions  he  is  deceived.  I  think  if  he 
had  not  been  fishing  up  in  Pennsylvania  when  this  message 
was  written,  he  would  not  have  signed  it  so  readily  as  he  did. 
I  do  not  think  it  was  necessary  to  go  to  Pennsylvania  for  more 
fish.  We  have  all  we  need  here.  I  think  it  is  a  message  not 


GEN.   JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  463 

veil  considered,  and  I  do  not  believe  he  examined  it  well 
>efore  signing  it.  It  does  not  state  the  case  correctly,  and  I 
m  sorry  to  see  him  put  upon  the  record  as  misstating  the 
aw. 

I  entertain  the  highest  respect  for  the  President  and  his 
idministration,  and  I  do  not  purpose  that  any  man  shall  put 
ne  in  a  false  position.     I  do  not  intend  to  allow  myself  to  be 
laced  in  antagonism  with  the  Administration,  nor  do  I  intend 
o  allow  any  man  or  set  of  men  to  howl  upon  my  heels  that  I 
lo  not  support  the  Administration,  and  am   therefore  to  be 
lenounced.     No,  sir !     I  am  supporting  the  Administration  ; 
am  maintaining  the  former  views  of  the   President,  and  I 
jthink  his  former  views  on  this  question  are  better  than  his 
later  ones.     Once  we  held  like  opinions  on  this  question  of 
j  Cuban  belligerency,  and  I  see  no  reason  on  my  part  to  change 
those  opinions.     If  he  has  changed  his,  I  find  no  fault  with 
him ;  but  I  prefer  to  stand  by  his  former  judgment,  formed 
when  he  was  cool,  when  he  deliberated  for  himself,  when  he 
jhad  not  men  around  him  to  bother  and  annoy  him  with  their 
peculiar  and  interested  notions,  when  he  thought  for  himself 
and  wrote  for  himself.     I  believed  then  as  he  believed;    I 
believe  now  as   I  believed  then,  and  I  do  not  propose  to 
change. 

Now,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  think  the  Republicans  on  this  side 
of  the  House  owe  it  to  themselves  to  take  the  side  of  the 
oppressed.  I  wish  to  say  to  the  Republican  party,  as  the 
friend  of  this  Administration,  that  the  most  friendly  act 
toward  this  present  Administration  is  to  let  this  message 
go  before  the  country,  so  far  as  the  opinion  of  the  President 
is  concerned.  Do  not  let  us  make  any  war  upon  it.  Let  it 
appear  to  the  country  that  we  differ  from  the  President  in  this 
matter  honestly.  Let  us  as  Republicans,  notwithstanding  the 
message,  declare  that  we  will  accord  to  these  people  all  the 
rights  of  civilized  warfare.  Let  us  do  this,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  the  country  will  say,  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful 
servants !"  If  your  action  be  taken  in  the  interest  of  free 
dom  ;  if  you  shall  help  the  oppressed  and  act  on  the  side  of 
liberty  and  humanity ;  if  in  a  contest  between  despotism  and 
a  people  struggling  bravely  for  independence  you  give  the 


464  GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

preference  to  the  latter;  if  in  doing  this  you  should  happen 
to  commit  error,  and  that  error  should  happen  to  be  on  the 
side  of  humanity  and  liberty, — there  is  no  country  in  the 
world  which  can,  or  ought  to,  find  fault  with  you.  In  ques 
tions  tried  before  our  juries  they  are  always  instructed  to  give 
the  benefit  of  the  doubt  in  favor  of  the  prisoner;  in  tiiis  case, 
if  there  be  any  doubt,  I  implore  the  House  let  it  be  in  favor 
of  Cuba.  By  taking  the  side  of  Cuba  against  Spain  we  are 
true  to  the  instincts  of  our  organization  in  sympathizing  with 
a  people  suffering  under  oppression.  It  will  show  that  you 
do  not  sympathize  with  despotism.  It  will  show  that  now,  as 
heretofore,  the  Republican  party  sympathize  with  struggling 
humanity  seeking  freedom  and  independence. 

Your  record  is  clear  in  the  past.  We  have  had  too  much 
sympathy  of  late  years  for  great  monarchies.  Indeed,  there 
seems  to  be  too  great  a  disposition  in  some  quarters  to  sym 
pathize  too  much  with  monarchy,  and  to  sympathize  too  much 
with  the  exercise  of  arbitrary  power  in  opposition  to  justice 
and  liberty.  And  why  is  this  ?  Because  these  are  great  gov 
ernments,  and  controlled  by  the  great  ones.  These  monar 
chical  governments  have  mighty  fleets  floating  upon  the  high 
seas.  They  have  ministers  residing  in  our  midst.  They  have 
pleasant  men  who  can  afford  to  give  splendid  entertainments. 
They  are  genial  men  at  the  dinner-table,  and  facile  in  the  art 
ful  manoeuvres  of  diplomacy.  They  are  what  was  known  in 
the  time  of  Louis  XIV.  and  the  "  Fronde"  as  honncte  men. 
They  have  all  the  appliances  for  making  good  their  cause 
when  they  wish  to  crush  out  people  who  are  struggling  for 
independence.  They  are  heard,  and  they  have  official  access 
to  our  Government,  which  is  denied  to  all  others. 

But  never  let  it  be  said  that  the  Republican  party  sympa 
thizes  with  the  oppressors  against  the  oppressed.  I  warn  you 
that  no  statesman  and  no  political  party  ever  had  a  long  life 
in  this  country  which  did  not  love  liberty,  no  matter  from 
where  the  cry  came,  whether  from  South  America,  or  from 
Mexico,  or  from  our  own  slaves  when  they  were  held  in  bond 
age.  When  the  South  American  states  raised  the  standard 
of  rebellion  against  Spain,  we  sympathized  with  them;  when 
Mexico  did  the  same  thing,  she  also  had  our  sympathy ;  and 


GEN.   JOHN   A.    LOGAN.  465 

gentlemen  should  not  forget  that  it  was  the  Republican  party 
that  gave  freedom  and  franchise  to  four  million  slaves  in  our 
own  midst.  Let  gentlemen  carefully  examine  the  history  of 
this  country  before  they  cast  these  people  off  and  consign 
them  to  the  merciless  horrors  of  a  Spanish  inquisition.  Read 
and  mark  well  that  no  party  ever  succeeded  which  refused  jus 
tice  or  sympathized  with  the  oppressor  against  the  oppressed. 

If  the  party  which  abolished  slavery,  the  party  which  in  the 
spirit  of  justice  gave  citizenship  to  those  who  were  freed  by 
it,  the  party  which  has  always  held  itself  to  be  the  great  expo 
nent  of  free  principles  and  justice  to  all,  of  liberty  and  human 
ity, — if  that  party  shall  now  turn  its  back  upon  its  former 
glorious  record  and  lend  moral  support  and  material  aid  to 
Spain  in  its  cruel  crusade  against  the  revolutionists  of  Cuba, 
it  must  inevitably  go  down  under  the  indignation  of  the  peo 
ple  who  now  make  up  its  formidable  numbers.  If,  however, 
we  shall  give  the  aid  which  is  asked  to  encourage  and  sustain 
struggling  humanity ;  if  we  shall  help  these  Cubans  fighting 
for  independence  ;  if  we  shall  do  that  which  every  dictate  of 
justice  demands  of  us  in  the  emergency;  in  a  word,  if  we  are 
true  to  the  doctrines  and  principles  we  have  enunciated, — then 
the  Republican  party  will  live  to  ride  safely  for  many  years  to 
come  through  the  boisterous  storms  of  politics,  and  will  over 
ride  in  the  future,  as  it  has  done  in  the  past,  all  such  theories 
as  secession  and  rebellion  in  our  Government,  and  all  that  is 
antagonistic  to  the  universal  liberty  of  man.  It  will  overcome 
every  obstacle  that  stands  in  the  way  of  the  great  advance,  the 
great  civilization,  the  great  enlightenment,  the  great  Christian 
ity,  of  this  age.  And  whenever  you  fail  to  allow  it  to  march 
onward  in  the  path  in  which  it  has  started  and  undertake  to 
impede  it  in  its  efforts  to  press  onward,  you  strike  a  blow  at 
your  own  party,  your  own  interests  and  safety;  for  I  tell  you 
that  whenever  you  halt  or  shirk  the  responsibilities  of  the 
hour  as  Republicans,  the  Democrats  will  overtake  you. 

The  Democrats  were  once  formidable  so  far  as  the  questions 
of  the  day  were  concerned.  They  are  far  behind  you  now ; 
and  I  say  to  you,  Republicans,  do  not  let  the  Democrats  beat 
you  to-day  as  regards  the  position  they  take  in  favor  of 
liberty.  If  you  do,  the  country  will  perhaps  give  you  reason 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

to  learn  after  a  while  that  you  have  forgotten  the  trust  that 
was  reposed  in  you,  and  have  failed  to  perform  the  duty  with 
which  it  has  honored  you,  but  allowed  it  to  slip  from  your 
hands  to  be  discharged  by  others. 

For  these  things  you  must  answer  before  the  great  forum 
of  the  people;  and  if  they  adjudge  you  recreant  in  the  sup 
port  of  the  principles  reposed  in  you  and  false  to  the  require 
ments  of  the  present,  they  will  not  find  you  worthy  of  confi 
dence  in  the  future. 

From  Cuba  to  General  Grant  is  an  easy  transition ;  and 
when  the  subject  of  the  Hero  of  Appomattox  is  mentioned, 
no  one  of  my  readers  but  what  can  instantly  guess  where 
General  Logan  would  be  on  any  question  affecting  his  old 
commander.  The  Senate,  on  June  3,  1872,  having  under  con 
sideration  a  motion  by  Mr.  Pomeroy  to  postpone  indefinitely 
the  bill  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses,  Sen 
ator  Logan  said : 

Mr.  President,  we  did  go  forth  and  fight  the  oligarchy  of 
slavery.  The  Senator  fought  it  here  in  the  Senate-chamber. 
Time  and  again  have  I  been  filled  with  pride  and  have  I  been 
made  to  respect  and  honor  and  love  the  Senator  from  Massa 
chusetts  as  I  saw  him  engaged  in  the  severe  and  fierce  battles 
which  he  fought  against  the  oligarchy  of  slavery.  I  have 
seen  him  when  he  fought  it  face  to  face,  so  far  as  language 
and  oratory  were  concerned.  But,  sir,  let  me  reply  to  him, 
Slavery  was  not  destroyed  by  his  speeches ;  slavery  was  not 
destroyed  by  his  oratory ;  slavery  was  not  destroyed  by  his 
eloquence ;  slavery  was  not  destroyed  by  his  power ;  slavery 
was  not  destroyed  by  his  efforts,  but  by  war.  By  the  sword 
in  the  hand  of  Grant  and  the  bayonets  that  were  held  by  his 
followers,  the  chains  of  slavery  fell  and  the  manacles  dropped 
from  the  limbs  of  the  slaves.  It  was  not  done  by  the  Senator 
alone,  but  by  the  exertions  of  the  army,  led  on  by  this  man 
against  whom  the  Senator  has  made  the  most  vile  assault  that 
has  ever  been  made  in  this  or  any  other  deliberative  body. 

Mr.  President,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1865,  on  the  22d 
day  of  May,  when  the  armies  were  marshalled  here  in  the 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  467 

streets  of  Washington,  as  we  passed  by  this  Senate-chamber 
and  marched  down  Pennsylvania  Avenue  with  the  officers  at 
the  head  of  their  columns,  I*  remember  to  have  read  on  the 
outer  walls  this  motto :  "  There  is  one  debt  this  country  can 
never  repay,  and  that  is  the  debt  of  gratitude  it  owes  to  the 
soldiers  who  have  preserved  the  Union."  Little  did  I  think 
then,  sir,  that  within  seven  years  afterward  I  should  hear  an 
assault  like  this  upon  the  leader  of  that  army  within  these 
very  walls.  Mr.  President,  is  that  debt  of  gratitude  so  soon 
forgotten  ?  Shall  the  fair  fame  and  reputation  of  the  man 
who  led  those  armies  be  trampled  in  the  dust  by  one  man, 
who  claims  so  egotistically  here  that  he  organized  the  party 
which  made  the  war  against  the  oligarchy  of  slavery?  But, 
sir, that  attempt  has  been  witnessed  here,  to  our  great  sorrow. 
The  eloquence,  the  power,  the  education — all  that  belong  to 
the  Senator  from  Massachusetts — has  been  brought  to  bear, 
not  in  consonance  with  that  motto,  not  in  keeping  alive  in  the 
bosoms  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  that  feeling-  6f 
gratitude  to  the  men  who  saved  the  country,  but  of  ingrati 
tude,  and,  worse,  of  want  of  decent  respect  which  should  be 
shown  either  for  the  memory  of  the  dead  or  for  the  character 
of  the  living. 

The  next  division  of  the  speech  of  the  Senator  from  Massa 
chusetts  is  in  reference  to  "  Presidential  pretensions,"  and  in 
discussing  Presidential  pretensions  he  draws  himself  to  his 
full  height  and  exclaims,  "  Upon  what  meat  doth  our  Caesar 
feed,  that  he  assumes  so  much?"  That  is  the  language  of 
the  Senator  from  Massachusetts.  I  might  reply  to  the  Sena 
tor  and  ask :  "  Upon  what  meat  doth  this  our  Caesar  feed, 
that  he  is  grown  so  great  ?" 

The  Senator  says  that  the  camp  is  not  the  training-school 
for  a  statesman — that  a  different  training  must  be  given  a  man 
for  the  purpose  of  making  him  a  statesman  from  that  which 
is  required  to  make  him  a  soldier.  I  shall  not  appeal  to  the 
Senator  from  Massachusetts  on  that  point,  but  I  oV  appeal  to 
the  people  of  this  country.  I  appeal  to  the  million  and  a 
half  of  soldiers  who  are  living;  and  if  I  could  reach  the  ears 
of  the  dead,  I  would  appeal  to  the  three  hundred  t-hou-Sartd 
that  lie  beneath  the  sod  who  fell  fighting,  and  fi^ht'tig  fell 


468  GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

that  their  country  might  live,  to  know  why  a  soldier  cannot 
be  a  statesman  and  why  a  statesman  cannot  be  a  soldier. 

Sir,  if  the  object  of  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts  is  to 
exclude  all  soldiers  from  civil  life,  if  every  soldier  in  this  land 
is  to  be  excluded  from  civil  position  because  he  has  had  the 
training  of  a  soldier,  then  I  say,  Soldiers  in  this  chamber, 
depart.  Return  to  your  homes — war  is  your  profession  and 
your  element — and  let  the  Sumners  maintain  themselves  as 
Senators  and  make  laws  which  you  must  obey.  I  appeal  to 
the  world  to  say,  if  there  had  been  no  other  kind  of  statesmen 
or  soldiers  save  that  of  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  would 
you  have  had  a  Government  ?  would  this  country  have  been 
united  ta-day,  or  would  it  have  been  severed  and  in  frag 
ments  ?  It  was  because  of  the  patriotism  in  the  breasts  of 
statesmen  and  in  men  who  are  not  statesmen,  it  was  because 
the  land  was  filled  with  patriots,  and  because  those  patriots 
went  to  the  field,  whether  they  were  or  they  were  not  states 
men,  that  our  country  has  been  saved.  I  am  not  of  the 
opinion  that  a  man  has  to  be  educated  and  crammed  and 
stuffed  day  after  day  with  Greek,  with  Latia,  with  French, 
with  Spanish,  with  German,  with  mathematics>  and  with 
everything  else,  until  when  he  comes  into  the  Senate-chamber 
and  makes  a  speech  you  would  think  he  was  some  magazine 
of  undigested  dictionaries,  pamphlets,  and  musty  histories  of 
past  ages,  exploding  upon  the  Senate,  instead  of  sending  forth 
the  well-digested  matter  elucidating  some  mooted  question. 
I  am  in  favor  of  education,  but  I  am  in  favor  of  that  education 
which  is  compatible  with  common  sense,  which  gives  judgment 
to  deal  with  men  and  things. 

Now,  I  want  to  compare  the  statesman  of  Massachusetts 
with  the  poor  little  dwarfed  soldier  of  Illinois  who  is  now 
President  of  the  United  States.  According  to  the  Senator 
from  Massachusetts,  he  is  ignorant;  according  to  the  Senator 
from  Massachusetts,  he  is  a  mere  soldier.  Before  the  war  he 
followed  the  occupation  of  a  tanner  and  received  but  a  small 
pittance  for  his  labor,  and  during  the  war  he  served  his 
country  in  the  camp  and  in  the  field,  and  did  not  have  the 
opportunity  to  fit  himself  for  President  of  the  United  States. 
That  was  the  language  of  the  Senator.  In  other  words,  no 


GEN.    JOHN   A.    LOGAN.  469 

man  who  has  ever  worked  at  the  tanner's  trade  should  be 
President;  no  man  who  was  ever  a  shoemaker  should  be  a 
Senator;  no  man  who  was  ever  a  carpenter  should  be  a  legis 
lator;  no  man  who  was  ever  a  farmer  should  aspire  to  position 
or  honors  from  the  people.  In  other  words,  the  laboring,  work 
ing  classes  are,  according  to  his  theory,  the  "  mudsills  of 
society,"  as  was  once  announced  by  a  South  Carolinian  ;  and 
the  announcement  was  received  with  the  contempt  of  the 
whole  intelligent  North.  If  no  persons  but  those  like  the 
Senator  himself  are  permitted  to  occupy  positions  in  this  land 
or  can  be  President  or  Vice-President,  how  will  it  be  with  the 
poor  tanners,  the  poor  carpenters,  the  poor  farmers,  the  poor 
printers,  the  poor  everybodies?  None  of  these  are  fit  to  be 
President  or  Vice-President,  or  Senators  or  members  of 
Congress,  or  Governors ;  but  they  are,  according  to  the 
theory  of  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  only  fit  to  make 
food  for  gunpowder  as  mere  soldiers. 

Now,  Mr.  President,  I  desire  to  draw  the  attention  of  the 
Senate  but  a  short  time  to  some  of  the  specific  charges  that 
have  been  made  by  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts.  He 
says  the  President  is  guilty  of  nepotism,  and,  as  I  said,  several 
pages  of  his  speech  are  copied  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
first  the  origin  of  the  word.  It  is  necessary  for  a  learned  man 
when  he  discourses  upon  a  word  to  show  its  origin.  We  then 
find  the  origin  of  the  word  "  nepotism."  He  shows  that  it  is 
of  Italian  origin,  and  then  goes  on  through  the  history  of  the 
popes,  the  history  of  those  who  once  ruled  Rome,  to  show 
how  many  nephews  and  kinsfolk  they  appointed  to  office. 
Then  he  comes  down  to  President  Grant,  and  he  charges  the 
President  of  the  United  States  with  having  usurped  the  power 
of  the  Presidential  office  and  made  it  a  mere  perquisite  and 
appointed  to  office  his  kinsfolk,  and  for  that  reason  he  ought 
not  to  be  recognized  as  a  suitable  candidate  for  President 
again. 

Now,  I  want  to  put  this  question  to  the  country.  I  admit 
that  he  has  appointed  some  of  his  relatives  to  office,  but  I 
want  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts  to  point  his  finger  to 
the  law  that  forbids  that  being  done.  If  it  is  not  in  violation 
of  law,  is  there  anything  that  shows  that  it  is  in  violation  of 


4/O  GEN.    JOHN   A.    LOGAN. 

good  morals  ?  It  seems  to  me  for  a  man  to  take  care  of  his 
own  household  is  not  in  violation  of  good  morals.  It  cer 
tainly  is  in  violation  of  no  law,  and  I  believe  we  are  told  that 
"  he  who  provideth  not  for  his  own  household  hath  denied  the 
faith  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel."  The  Senator  does  not 
believe  there  is  anything  like  wit  or  genius  or  common  sense 
in  the  President.  I  will  repeat  a  remark  that  I  heard  that  he 
had  made  once  that  perhaps  has  aroused  the  anger  of  the 
Senator  to  some  extent.  A  gentleman  once  said  to  the  Presi 
dent  that  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts  did  not  altogether 
believe  the  Bible.  The  President  quietly  said  there  was  a 
reason  for  that,  and  that  was  that  he  did  not  write  it  himself. 

Mr.  President,  the  speech  of  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts 
presented  to  the  country  at  this  particular  time  is  a  very  sig 
nificant  fact.  I  wish  to  call  his  attention  to  one  point  in  it, 
but  this  suggestion  I  wish  to  make  in  order  to  show  him  how 
fatal  to  himself  this  speech  may  be.  He  says  that  at  the  time 
he  approached  Secretary  Stanton  on  his  dying-bed,  and  the 
Secretary  repeated  to  him  the  reasons  why  he  had  no  faith  in 
General  Grant's  ability  to  administer  the  government,  he  said 
to  the  Secretary,  "It  is  too  late;  why  did  you  not  say  this 
sooner?"  I  repeat  the  same  thing  to  Senator  Sumner.  Your 
speech,  to  perform  the  office  you  intended  it,  came  too  late. 
Hence  I  am  led  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  not  intended  to 
perform  the  office  which  he  says  it  was  intended,  but  it  was 
to  perform  a  very  different  office  from  that  which  he  intimates 
he  intended  it  should  perform — that  is  to  say,  to  advise  the 
American  people  that  President  Grant  was  not  qualified  to 
exercise  the  functions  of  that  office,  and  hence  ought  to  be 
supplanted  by  some  one  else  at  Philadelphia.  No,  sir!  If 
that  was  the  object,  it  comes  too  late.  That  being  so,  I  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  a  man  of  so  much  wisdom  and 
of  so  many  pretensions  as  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts 
had  a  very  different  intention. 

Sir,  his  intention  was  to  strangle  and  destroy  the  Repub 
lican  party — that  party  which  he  says  he  created.  If  he  did, 
I  say  to  him  he  performed  a  great  work.  If  he  was  the 
architect  and  builder  of  the  Republican  party,  he  is  a  great 
master-workman — its  dome  so  beautifully  rounded,  its  columns 


GEN.   JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  4/1 

so  admirably  chiseled,  and  all  its  parts  so  admirably  prepared 
and  builded  together  so  smoothly  and  so  perfectly  that  the 
mechanism  charms  the  eye  of  every  one  who  has  ever  seen  it. 
Since  the  Senator  has  performed  such  a  great  work,  I  appeal 
to  him  to  know  why  it  is  that  he  attempts  to  destroy  the 
workmanship  of  his  own  hands?  But  let  me  give  him  one 
word  of  advice.  While  he  may  think,  Samson-like,  that  he 
las  the  strength  to  carry  off  the  gates  and  the  pillars  of  the 
emple,  let  me  tell  him  when  he  stretches  forth  his  arm  to 
cause  the  pillars  to  reel  and  totter  beneath  this  fabric,  there  are 
;housands  and  thousands  of  true-hearted  Republicans  who 
will  come  up  to  the  work,  and,  stretching  forth  their  strong 
right  arm,  say,  "Stay  thou  there!  These  pillars  stand 
Deneath  this  mighty  fabric  of  ours,  within  which  we  all  dwell  ; 
t  is  me  ark  of  our  safety,  and  shall  not  be  destroyed."  .  .  . 

Now,  Mr.  President,  I  should  like  to  ask  this  country  just 
at  this  time,  on  the  eve  of  a  nomination,  and  almost  on  the 
eve  of  the  Presidential  election,  to  reflect  for  a  short  time  and 
see  what,  if  they  follow  the  suggestion  of  the  Senator  from 
Massachusetts,  will  be  our  position  in  history  and  how  viewed 
)y  the  civilized  world.  Why,  sir,  a  tale  as  simple  as  that 
which  a  child  could  tell  will  give  all  the  facts  in  a  few  words 
as  to  the  position  which  we  will  occupy,  provided  we  are 
nfluenced  in  our  judgment  by  this  slanderous  attack  on  the 
President  of  the  United  States. 

The  question  would  be  stated  in  this  way :  The  people 
of  the  United  States  of  America  at  one  time  being  in  the 
throes  of  rebellion,  when  they  saw  one  by  one  Senators 
leaving  this  chamber,  one  by  one  members  leaving  the 
other  chamber  of  Congress,  when  the  armies  were  arrayed 
on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  on  opposite  sides,  when  disaster 
and  defeat  overtook  our  arms  at  every  point  and  at  every 
place,  and  when  the  United  States  itself  and  its  preservation 
trembled  in  the  balance, — we  found  a  man  who  organized  out- 
armies,  went  by  night  and  by  day,  by  camp-light  or  by  moon 
light  to  the  field,  through  sunshine  and  dreary  storms,  leading 
our  armies  from  one  victory  to  another,  until  finally  the  shout 
went  up  from  one  end  of  this  land  to  the  other  that  the  triumph 
Was  ours.  The  banner  floated  over  every  foot  of  territory 


4/2  GEN     JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

belonging  to  the  United  States  of  America.  The  Union  was 
preserved.  The  Constitution  itself  had  not  been  sacrificed. 
Our  laws  were  not  only  unharmed,  but  had  been  preserved  in 
every  letter  and  much  added  to  them.  Slavery,  the  accursed 
relic  of  barbarism,  had  drawn  itself  away  from  the  face  of  the 
earth.  Freedom  reigned,  and  men  came  forth  from  the  mid 
night  of  slavery  and  leaped  for  joy  in  the  beaming  sunshine 
of  freedom. 

And  the  question  would  be,  Who  the  man  is  that  led  us  to 
these  great  achievements  ?  and  we  would  point  to  Grant.  In 
answer  to  that,  history  would  respond  that  after  nil  these 
achievements;  after  all  that  has  been  accomplished  under 
his  lead ;  after  the  great  success  of  the  American  people ; 
after  the  advance  that  civilization  has  received  by  his  success — 
there  arose  on  the  last  day  of  May,  1872,  in  the  Senate-cham 
ber  of  the  United  States,  a  man  in  whom  the  people  had  had 
confidence,  and  that  man  declared  before  the  living  world  that 
this  man  Grant  was  an  ignoramus — that  ihis  man  had  for 
feited  his  right  to  the  respect  of  the  American  people  by  sell 
ing  office,  by  nepotism,  by  the  various  wrongs  that  man  can 
perpetrate  had  dwarfed  himself  in  meanness,  and  by  that  sunk 
in  infamy  and  disgrace  in  the  presence  of  the  civilized  world; 
and  no  one  made  answer  thereto,  but  allowed  all  these  achieve 
ments  to  be  blotted  from  memory  by  the  words  of  one  man. 
What  hearts  would  be  ours?  No,  sir!  These  statements 
will  not  be  permitted  to  go  down  to  history  in  future  years  to 
mar  the  well-won  fame  of  the  President  without  being  chal 
lenged  and  sternly  rebuked  by  the  American  people,  and  the 
recoil  will  be  so  great  on  the  author  as  to  brighten  the  record 
of  Grant  and  darken  and  mar  his  own. 

I  say  the  history  of  the  world  would  write  the  American 
people  down  as  a  people  not  worthy  of  trust,  as  a  people 
without  gratitude,  as  a  people  who  had  seen  a  man  hew  his 
way  to  fame  by  his  own  strong  arm,  and  then  allowed  an 
ambitious  politician  to  strike  him  down,  down  with  a  merci 
less  blow,  and  no  one  to  stand  by  and  to  say,  "  The  blow  is 
too  severe."  And  I  say  to  the  Senator  from  Massachusetts 
that  while  he  has  struck  this  blow — as  he  believes,  a  heavy 
one — on  the  head  of  the  political  prospects  of  General  Grant, 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  473 

he  has  made  him  friends  by  the  thousand  ;  strong  ones,  too, 
that  were  merely  lukewarm  yesterday.  He  has  aroused  the 
spirit  of  this  land  that  cannot  be  quelled.  He  has,  in  fact, 
inflamed  the  old  war-spirit  in  the  soldiery  of  the  country.  He 
has  aroused  the  feeling  of  indignation  in  every  man  that 
warmed  his  feet  by  a  camp-fire  during  the  war.  He  has 
sent  through  this  land  a  thrill  which  will  return  to  him  in 
such  a  manner  and  with  such  force  as  will  make  him  feel  it. 
For  myself,  I  will  say  that  I  have  sat  quietly  here  for 
months,  and  had  not  intended  to  say  anything;  I  had  no 
argument  to  make,  intending  to  await  the  nomination  of  the 
Philadelphia  convention,  be  it  Grant  or  be  it  whom  it  might, 
believing,  however,  it  would  be  Grant;  but  when  I  heard 
these  vile  slanders  hurled  like  javelins  against  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  it  aroused  a  feeling  in  my  breast  which 
has  been  aroused  many  times  before.  I  am  now  ready  to 
buckle  on  my  armor  and  am  ready  for  the  fray,  and  from  now 
until  November  next  to  fight  this  battle  in  behalf  of  an  honest 
man,  a  good  soldier,  and  a  faithful  servant. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 
THE  WAR  WITH  THE  SOUTH— LOGAN'S  PATRIOTISM— FROM  THE  HAI.I.S  OF 

CON'GRESS    TO    BULL    RUN — AT   THE    FRONT — IN    COMMAND    OF    A    REGI 
MENT — ATLANTA  TO  THE  SEA. 

JOHN  A.  LOGAN  was  a  man  who  was  developed  by  the  war. 
The  cavalry-bugler  sounded  the  key-note  of  his  character, 
and  in  an  atmosphere  of  dust  and  powder  he  grew  great.  A 
country  lawyer,  a  member  of  Congress  from  the  most  be 
nighted  section  of  Illinois  who  had  found  his  highest  am 
bition  in  stirring  the  sluggish  blood  of  the  criminal  jury, 
sprang  suddenly  to  the  head  of  an  army  without  previous 
military  education  other  than  that  derived  on  the  experimental 
fields  of  Mexico,  and  by  the  mere  force  of  his  courage  and 
his  martial  instincts.  He  was  the  representative  of  the  loyal 
millions,  the  beau-ideal  of  the  volunteer  soldier,  and  as  such 
in  history  he  will  live.  He  rose  alone ;  he  was  no  man's  pro 
tege  and  the  satellite  of  no  sun.  His  success  was  one  against 
opposition,  and  was  acknowledged  because  it  was  deserved. 

His  proud  assertion  that  he  would  shoulder  his  musket  to 
have  Mr.  Lincoln  inaugurated  was  not  an  empty  boast.  In 
July,  1861,  during  the  extra  session  of  Congress,  and  on  one 
of  the  bright  sunshiny  afternoons  so  common  to  the  climate 
of  this  country,  Washington  was  the  theatre  of  a  scene  of 
brilliancy — an  event  that  meant  a  great  deal  to  every  man  in 
the  republic.  Long  lines  of  troops  carrying  their  glittering 
bayonets,  an  endless  procession  of  flags,  a  loud  turmoil  of 
drums  and  fifes,  and  the  resounding  applause  of  the  spectators 
(474^ 


GEN.    JOHN   A.    LOGAN.  475 

who  thickly  lined  the  sidewalks  gave  to  the  nation's  capital 
an  air  of  wonderful  interest.  The  troops  were  on  their  way  to 
the  front.  Mr.  Logan  had  seen  them  pass  the  Capitol  build 
ing  ;  he  returned  to  his  seat  in  the  House,  but  his  soul  was 
too  deeply  stirred  for  him  to  sit  still.  Hastily  grasping  his 
hat,  he  left  the  halls  of  Congress,  overtook  the  troops  which 
were  marching  out  of  Washington  to  meet  the  enemy,  and 
went  to  Colonel  Richardson's  regiment.  From  him  he 
secured  a  musket  and  a  place  in  the  ranks.  He  marched 
straight  from  the  .Capitol  to  the  disastrous  affair  at  Bull 
Run. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  detail  here  the  unfortunate  movements 
of  the  first  pitched  battle  of  the  war ;  sufficient  for  us  to  know 
:hat  Private  Logan  fought  with  distinguished  bravery  and 
was  among  the  last  to  leave  that  treacherous  field.  With 
the  rest,  after  the  battle — which  was  a  misfortune,  and  never 
a  disgrace — he  returned  to  Washington,  where  the  excited 
condition  of  affairs  deeply  impressed  him  with  the  neces 
sity  of  leading  the  advance  to  retrieve  the  misfortunes  of 
the  Union  armies.  He  hastened  to  his  home  at  Marion  in 
the  latter  part  of  August  with  the  determination  of  offering 
something  in  the  way  of  assistance  to  the  Government.  In  a 
speech  to  his  fellow-citizens  on  the  3d  of  September  he  an 
nounced  his  intention  in  ringing  words  to  enter  the  service  of 
the  State — as  a  private,  if  need  be,  or  in  any. other  capacity  in 
which  he  could  serve  his  country  best.  He  would,  he  said, 
defend  the  old  blood-stained  flag  over  every  foot  of  land  in 
the  United  States.  His  eloquent  and  high  personal  reputation 
at  once  rallied  friends  and  neighbors  around  him,  and  on  the 
1 3th  of  September,  1861,  the  Thirty-first  Illinois  Volunteers 
was  organized,  with  John  Alexander  Logan  as  its  first 
colonel. 

The   regiment    was    attached    to    General    McClernand's 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

brigade,  and  seven  weeks  later,  at  Belmont,  made  its  first 
fight,  during  which  Colonel  Logan  had  a  horse  shot  under 
him  and  his  pistol  at  his  side  shattered  by  rebel  bullets.  He 
led  the  Thirty-first  also  at  Fort  Henry,  and  again  at  Fort 
Donclson,  where  he  received  a  very  severe  wound,  which, 
aggravated  by  exposure,  disabled  him  for  some  time  from 
actual  service.  Reporting  again  for  duty  to  General  Grant 
at  Pittsburgh  Landing,  he  was  shortly  after  (March  5,  1862) 
made  brigadier-general  of  volunteers,  took  a  distinguished 
part  in  the  movement  against  Corinth  in  May,  and  after 
the  occupation  ©f  that  place  guarded  with  his  brigade  the 
railroad  communications  with  Jackson,  Tennessee,  of  which 
place  he  was  subsequently  given  command.  In  the  sum 
mer  of  1862  he  was  warmly  urged  by  his  numerous  friends 
and  admirers  again  to  become  a  candidate  for  Congress,  but 
declined  in  a  letter  of  glowing  patriotism,  in  which  he  said, 
"  I  have  entered  the  field  to  die,  if  need  be,  for  this  Govern 
ment,  and  never  expect  to  return  to  peaceful  pursuits  until 
the  object  of  this  war  of  preservation  has  become  a  fact 
established." 

During  Grant's  Northern  Mississippi  campaign  (1862  and 
1863)  Logan  led  his  division,  exhibiting  great  skill  in  the 
handling  of  troops,  and  was  honored  with  a  promotion  as 
major-general  of  volunteers,  dating  from  November  29,  1862. 
He  was  afterward  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Third  Di 
vision,  Seventeenth  Army  Corps,  under  General  McPherson, 
and  bore  a  part  in  the  movement  upon  Vicksburg,  contrib 
uting  to  the  victory  at  Port  Gibson,  and  saving  the  day  by 
his  desperate  personal  bravery,  May  12,  at  the  battle  of 
Raymond — which  General  Grant  designated  as  "  one  of  the 
hardest  small  battles  of  the  war" — participated  in  the  defeat 
and  routing  of  the  rebels  at  Jackson,  May  14,  and  in  the  battle 
of  Champion's  Hill,  May  16. 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

It  was  at  this  battle  of  Champion  Hill  that  Logan  sent  his 
lebrated  reply  to  Grant.  The  commander-in-chief,  during 
.e  progress  of  the  fray,  sent  an  aide  to  his  subordinate  to 
quire  if  he  (Logan)  could  not  push  his  men  forward  a  little. 
ack  came  the  profane  but  characteristic  reply : 
"  Tell  General  Grant  my  division  can  whip  all  the  rebels 
lis  side  of  hell,  and  will  push  forward  till  he  gives  us  orders 
halt." 

Vicksburg  was  a  great  point  in  the  war.     It  not  only  pre- 
ented  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  by  our  vessels,  but  it 
onnected  the  South  with  its  great  source  of  supply.     It  was 
lere,  says  the  Count  de  Paris,  that  General  Grant  conceived 
lis  opinion — an  opinion  which,  when  once  expressed,  he  never 
;eased  to  repeat — that  the  main  object  of  war  should  be  the 
estruction  of  the  enemy's  army  rather  than  the  conquest  of 
such  or  such  portions  of  territory.     He  saw  nothing  in  such 
erritory  except  resources,   in  men,  provisions,  and  materiel, 
which  the  armies  could  derive  from  it.     He  only  disputed  it 
with  his  adversaries  so  long  as  it  was  necessary  to  deprive 
them  of  resources,  deeming  it  more  important   to    cut  rail 
roads,  to  destroy  depots,  and  to  prevent  all  possible  concen 
tration  of  provisions,  than  to  occupy  a  vast  extent  of  country. 
When  the  Vicksburg  campaign  opened,  Logan  was  a  division 
commander;  and  when  it  closed, he  had  risen  to  the  command 
of  the  Fifteenth  Corps.     It  is  needless  to  speak  here  of  the 
movement  of  the  different  columns,  the  bravery  of  the  troops, 
or  the  gallantry  and  daring  of  regimental  officers  and  men ; 
the  great  army  surged  up  against  the  impregnable  works  as 
the  sea  surges  against  the  rock,  and  was  beaten  back  as  the 
waves  recoil  from   the   impassable  barriers  that  meet  them. 
Again  and  again,  until  time  demonstrated  the  Union  army  to 
be  winner,  every  corps  commander  fought  his  command  most 

brilliantly.     Logan,  brave,  vigilant,  and  aggressive,  won  uni- 
28 


4/8  ^KN-    JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

versal  applause.  Prudent  for  his  men  and  reckless  in  expos 
ing  his  own  person,  he  excited  general  admiration.  Whei 
the  lines  were  close,  his  own  headquarters  were  often  scarceb 
out  of  sight  of  the  picket,  and  he  generally  had  a  hand  ii 
whatever  deadly  work  might  spring  up  along  his  front.  I 
was  not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  when  Pembertoi 
capitulated  Logan's  corps  should  be  selected  to  lead  th 
march  of  victory  into  the  abandoned  earthworks  of  the  foe. 

The  stirring  times  about  Vicksburg  were  hardly  dissolve! 
in  the  restful  hours  of  a  temporary  truce  when  General  Logai 
•started  to  scenes  of  other  activity,  and  to  battlefields  that  wer 
yet  to  be  fought  over  and  won.  He  became  known  to  th 
Army  of  the  Cumberland  when  the  Armies  of  the  Tennessee 
the  Ohio,  and  the  Cumberland  united  at  Ringgold  and  face< 
southward  for  the  Atlanta  campaign.  General  Grant  hai 
returned  to  Washington  to  take  command  of  the  Army  of  th 
Potomac,  and  General  Logan's  superior  officer  was  Genera 
William  Tecumseh  Sherman.  As  these  armies  kept  along 
battle-line  where  for  four  months  the  fire  never  wholly  cease' 
by  day  or  by  night,  everybody  came  to  know  Logan ;  and  i 
that  celebrated  campaign  which  ended  at  the  shores  washe< 
by  the  blue  waves  of  the  Atlantic,  General  Logan  bore 
conspicuous  part.  * 

The  care  of  his  men  in  this  campaign,  while  never  for  a 
instant  preventing  the  most  brilliant  fighting,  nor  retardini 
participation  in  the  severest  turmoil  of  the  attack,  is  we! 
illustrated  by  an  anecdote  which  belongs  to  the  history  o 
Kenesaw  Mountain.  With  General  McPherson  he  was  a 
General  Sherman's  headquarters  when  the  assault  at  Kenesm 
was  decided  upon.  He  at  once  protested,  though  at  firs 
scarcely  believing  that  the  intention  to  make  the  assault  wn 
earnest.  When  he  discovered  that  it  was  really  contemplated 
he  emphasized  his  protest,  and  coupled  it  with  the  opinioi 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  481 

at  to  send  the  troops  against  that  mountain  would  only 
suit  in  useless  slaughter.  Finding  his  opinion  likely  to  be 
sregarded,  he  went  still  farther,  and  declared  that  such  a 
ovement,  in  his  judgment,  would  be  nothing  less  than  the 
urder  of  a  great  number  of  men.  In  all  of  this  he  was 
armly  seconded  by  General  McPherson.  They  did  not  suc- 
eed,  however,  in  averting  the  slaughter ;  but  afterward,  when 
¥icers  in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  heard  that  General 
homas's  protest  in  regard  to  the  same  matter  had  been  in 
milar  terms  to  that  of  Logan,  a  stronger  liking  than  ever  for 
ogan  prevailed  among  those  officers  of  the  Army  of  the 
umberland  who  knew  the  facts,  for,  while  his  heroism  was 
ndaunted,  the  conservative  policy  which  sought  to  protect 
s  men  whenever  he  saw  they  were  likely  to  be  needlessly 
Kposed  was  a  policy  not  often  practised  in  the  War  for  the 
nion,  and  it  was  the  more  commendable  on  account  of  its 
xtreme  foresight. 

He  led  the  advance  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  in  the 
ovement  of  Resaca,  taking  part  in  the  battle  which  followed, 
nd,  still  moving  on  the  right,  met  and  repulsed  Hardee's 
veterans  at  Dallas,  on  the  23d  of  May.  He  drove  the  enemy 
from  three  lines  of  works  at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  and  again, 
on  the  2/th  of  June,  made  a  desperate  assault  against  the 
impregnable  face  of  Little  Kenesaw.  It  was  against  this 
assault  that  he  protested,  as  we  have  just  said.  In  the  auto 
biographic  memoirs  of  General  Sherman,  in  one  of  the  early 
chapters  of  the  Atlanta  campaign,  he  relates:  "On  the  occa 
sion  of  my  visit  to  McPherson  on  the  3Oth  of  May,  while 
standing  with  a  group  of  officers,  among  whom  were  Generals 
McPherson,  Logan,  Barry,  and  Colonel  Taylor,  my  former 
chief  of  artillery,  a  minie-ball  passed  through  Logan's  coat- 
sleeve,  scratching  the  skin,  and  struck  Colonel  Taylor  square 
in  the  breast.  General  Logan  did  not  interrupt  his  conversa- 


4-8-  GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

tion,  nor  the  sentence  that  he  was  then  uttering.  The  matter 
had  with  him  no  effect 

On  the  22d  of  July,  at  the  terrible  battle  of  Peachtree  Creek, 
Logan,  fighting  at  one  moment  on  one  side  of  his  works  and 
the  next  on  the  other,  was  informed  of  the  death,  on  another 
part  of  the  field,  of  the  beloved  General  McPherson,  his 
immediate  superior  officer.  Assuming  the  command,  as  he 
was  in  duty  bound  to  do,  he  dashed  impetuously  from  one  end 
to  the  other  of  his  hardly-pressed  lines,  shouting,  "  McPherson 
and  revenge !"  His  emotion  communicated  itself  to  the  troops 
with  the  rapidity  of  electricity,  and  eight  thousand  rebel  dead 
left  upon  the  field  at  nightfall  bore  mute  witness  to  their  love 
for  the  fallen  chief  and  to  the  bravery  of  his  successor. 

Of  this  engagement,  which  has  often  been  called  the  "  Bat 
tle  of  Atlanta,"  and  in  which,  as  General  Sherman  said,  "  I 
purposely  allowed  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  to  fight  it 
almost  unaided,"  General  Logan  made  the  following  report : — 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  AND  ARMY  OF  THE  TENNESSEE. 
BEFORE  ATLANTA,  GEORGIA,  July  24,  1864. 

MAJOR   GENERAL  VV.  T.  SHERMAN,   COMMANDING   MILITARY 

DIVISION    OF    THE    MISSISSIPPI — 

GENERAL  :  I  have  the  honor  to  report  the  following  gen 
eral  summary  of  the  result  of  the  attack  of  the  enemy  on  this 
army  on  the  22d  inst. 

Total  loss,  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  3521,  and  ten 
pieces  of  artillery. 

We  have  buried  and  delivered  to  the  enemy,  under  a  flag 
of  truce  sent  in  by  them,  in  front  of  the  Third  Division, 
Seventeenth  Corps,  1000  of  their  killed. 

The  number  of  their  dead  in  front  of  the  Fourth  Division 
of  the  same  corps,  including  those  on  the  ground  not  now 
occupied  by  our  troops,  General  Blair  reports,  will  swell  tiie 
number  of  the  dead  on  his  front  to  2OOO. 

The  number  of  their  dead  buried  in  front  of  the   Fifteenth 


*-       « 

3MW  r 

v  •  1   \\\\\\\\\ 


GEN.   JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  485 

Corps  up  to  this  hour  is  360,  and  the  commanding  officer 
reports  that  at  least  as  many  more  are  yet  unburied,  burying- 
parties  being  still  at  work. 

The  number  of  dead  buried  in  front  of  the  Sixteenth  Corps 
s  422.  We  have  over  1000  of  wounded  in  our  hands,  the 
arger  number  of  the  wounded  being  carried  off  during  the 
light,  after  the  engagement,  by  them. 

We  captured  18  stands  of  colors,  and  have  them  now.  We 
also  captured  5000  stands  of  arms. 

The  attack  was  made  on  our  line  seven  times,  and  was 
seven  times  repulsed.  Hood's  and  Hardee's  corps  and  Wheel 
er's  cavalry  engaged  us. 

We  have  sent  to  the  rear  1000  prisoners,  including  33  com 
missioned  officers  of  high  rank. 

We  still  occupy  the  field,  and  the  troops  are  in  fine  spirits. 
A  detailed  and  full  "report  will  be  furnished  as  soon  as  com 
pleted. 

*       RECAPITULATION. 

Our  total  loss 3>52i 

Enemy's  dead,  thus  far  reported,  buried,  and  delivered  to  them...   3,220 

Total  prisoners  sent  North 1,017 

Total  prisoners,  wounded,  in  our  hands  1,000 

Estimated  loss  of  the  enemy,  at  least 10,000 

Very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  A.  LOGAN,  Major-General. 

For  this  engagement  General  Logan  certainly  was  entitled 
o  the  command  of  which  McPherson  had  so  unfortunately 
and  in  such  sad  manner  been  deprived.  The  way  that  that 
question  was  answered  is  thus  related  by  General  Sherman  : 
"  But  it  first  became  necessary  to  settle  the  important  question 
of  who  should  succeed  General  McPherson.  General  Logan 
had  taken  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  by  virtue 
of  his  seniority,  and  had  done  well ;  but  I  did  not  consider 
him  equal  to  the  command  of  three  corps.  Between  him  and 
General  Blair  there  existed  a  natural  rivalry.  Both  were  men 
of  great  courage  and  talent,  but  were  politicians  by  nature  and 
experience,  and  it  may  be  that  for  this  reason  that  they  were  mis- 


486  GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 


trusted  by  regular  officers  like  Generals  Schofield,  Thomas, 
and  myself.  It  was  all-important  that  there  should  exist  a 
perfect  understanding  among  the  army  commanders,  and  at  a 
conference  with  General  George  H.  Thomas  at  the  head 
quarters  of  General  Thomas  J.  Woods,  commanding  a  division 
in  the  Fourth  Corps,  he  (Thomas)  remonstrated  warmly 
against  my  recommending  that  General  Logan  should  be 
regularly  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Ten 
nessee  by  reason  of  his  accidental  seniority.  We  discussed 
fully  the  merits  and  qualities  of  every  officer  of  high  rank  in 
the  army,  and  finally  settled  on  Major-General  O.  O.  Howard 
as  the  best  officer  who  was  present  and  available  for  the  pur 
pose.  He  was  appointed,  and  his  place  in  command  of  the 
Fourth  Corps  was  filled  by  General  Stanley,  one  of  his  division 
commanders,  on  the  recommendation -of  General  Thomas. 
All  these  promotions  happened  to  fall  upon  West-Pointers, 
and  doubtless  Logan  and  Blair  had  some  reason  to  believe 
that  we  intended  to  monopolize  the  higher  honors  of  the  war 
for  the  regular  officers.  I  remember  well  my  own  thoughts 
and  feelings  at  the  time,  and  feel  sure  I  was  not  intentionally 
partial  to  any  class.  I  regarded  both  Generals  Logan  and 
Blair  as  volunteers  that  looked  to  personal  fame  and  glory  as 
auxiliary  and  secondary  to  their  political  ambition,  and  not  as 
professional  soldiers." 

There  was  nothing,  however,  in  the  career  of  General 
Logan  at  this  time  or  previously  that  justified  General 
Sherman  in  his  selection,  and  on  July  28,  at  the  obstinate 
battle  of  Ezra  Chapel,  General  Logan  handled  his  troops  in  a 
way  that  was  of  itself  a  splendid  protest  to  the  commander- 
in-chiefs  view. 

Upon  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  General  Logan's  troops  went  into 
summer  quarters,  and  he  returned  to  the  North  to  take  part 
in  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1864.  He  rejoined  his  corps 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  487 

at  Savannah,  Georgia,  when  they  faced  about  on  their  way  to 
the  sea.  The  Fifteenth  Corps  was  under  the  command  of  its 
gallant  leader  on  the  march  through  the  Carolinas,  and  from 
there  until  the  close  of  the  war  General  Logan  never  left  it. 

Of  course  in  all  this  career  the  anecdotes  and  stories  told 
of  General  Logan  were  innumerable.  A  member  of  the  old 
Thirty-first  writes  to  me  a  story  of  the  Belmont  attack  and 
victory  which  illustrates  Logan's  dash  and  energy: 

*'  We  embarked  at  Cairo  on  transports,  and  landed  secretly 
a  few  miles  above  Belmont.  The  rebels  were  in  force  at 
Columbus  and  at  Belmont,  nearly  opposite  Columbus.  We 
swooped  down  on  the  Belmont  outfit,  and  after  a  sharp  fight 
cleaned  out  the  town.  In  those  days,  the  early  part  of  the 
war,  when  any  body  of  Union  troops  had  a  fight  and  won,  it 
was  thought  to  be  the  thing  to  have  a  great  blow-out,  cele 
brating  the  event  with  speeches  and  bonfires  and  music,  and 
all  that.  The  Belmont  victory  was  no  exception.  We  had  a 
great  time  that  night.  General  G.  N.  McClernand  made  a 
roaring  speech,  and  so  did  Logan,  I  believe.  We  had  great 
bonfires  and  an  extra  supper  and  all  the  bands,  and  kept  it  up 
till  pretty  near  daylight.  Then  it  was  found  that  during  the 
night,  while  we  were  celebrating,  the  rebels  had  landed  a  big 
force  from  Columbus  to  our  side  of  the  river  and  cut  us  off 
completely  from  our  transports.  We  were  dazed  at  this,  and 
in  a  mighty  tight  place.  Logan  was  the  first  to  realize  it,  and 
after  some  discussion  he  got  permission  from  McClernand  to 
try  to  cut  his  way  through  the  rebel  cordon,  and  opened  the 
road  to  the  transports.  This  was  done  in  a  bayonet  charge, 
and  was  one  of  the  most  valiant  feats  of  the  war." 

While  lying  wounded  at  Fort  Donelson  his  devoted  wife 
forced  her  way  to  his  bedside  and  nursed  him  back  to  health. 
In  a  cot  next  to  his,  with  toes  nearly  touching,  lay  William 
R.  Morrison,  the  present  celebrated  free-trade  Congressman, 


488  GEN.   JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

who,  while  leading  the  Forty-ninth  Illinois,  in  the  same  battle 
had  received  an  ugly  wound.  Mrs.  Logan  divided  her  atten 
tion  between  the  two  men,  and  was  the  means  of  restoring 
both  to  health.  To  this  day  they  are  bosom-friends  and  both 
enthusiastic  admirers  of  the  lady  who  got  the  best  of  a  barri 
cade  of  red  tape  on  the  way  to  the  weary  cots  at  Fort 
Donelson. 

I  cannot  but  conclude  this  recital  of  General  Logan's  life, 
which  does  but  scant  justice  to  his  brilliancy  and  ability,  with 
out  relating  an  event  of  his  army  career  that  raised  him  high 
in  the  estimation  of  the  friends  of  General  Thomas,  and 
among  men  who  believe  in  the  right  and  like  to  see  it  prac 
tised  : 

"  He  had  been  cut  off  from  joining  his  command  for  the 
March  to  the  Sea,  and  subsequently  reported  to  City  Point 
for  orders.  He  reached  there  just  after  the  first  order  for 
General  Thomas's  removal  before  Nashville  had  been  tele 
graphed  to  Washington  and  its  promulgation  delayed.  For 
the  second  time  General  Grant  had  become  exceedingly  im 
patient,  and  decided  to  remove  Thomas.  Upon  the  appear 
ance  of  Logan,  Grant  ordered  him  to  proceed  at  once  to 
Nashville  and  await  orders.  His  instructions  contemplated 
his  relieving  General  Thomas,  if  on  his  arrival  no  attack  had 
been  made  upon  Hood.  -  Here  was  a  most  brilliant  position 
offered — that  of  commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland 
just  as  it  had  been  reorganized  and  put  in  order  for  battle 
and  stood  in  its  trenches  ready  for  the  word  to  advance.  Had 
ambition  alone  actuated  him — had  he  been  '  a  political  soldier' 
—here  was  the  opportunity  of  a  lifetime  of  active  service  ;  but, 
instead  of  obeying  the  spirit  of  his  instructions,  he  proceeded 
with  such  deliberation  as  to  prove  beyond  room  for  cavil  that 
self-seeking  was  not  the  motive  which  controlled  John  A. 
Logan  in  the  war.  He  moved  to  his  new  post  without  undue 


GEN.    JOHN   A.    LOGAN.  489 

haste.  He  seemed  to  appreciate  the  situation  far  better  than 
Grant  himself.  His  leisurely  journey  to  Nashville  gave  time 
for  the  battle  to  open  under  Thomas ;  and  when  it  opened, 
Logan  telegraphed  announcing  the  beginning  of  Thomas's 
success,  and  asking  to  be  ordered  to  his  old  command." 

There  is  nothing  in  Logan's  military  history  more  credita 
ble  than  this. 

The  roll  of  honor  of  the  Union  armies  does  not  contain  a 
name  worthy  to  stand  above  that  of  General  John  A.  Logan 
as  the  best  type  of  the  volunteer  officer  through  all  the  grades 
up  to  the  commander  of  an  army  of  battle.  His  bravery  was 
of  the  sterling  kind.  He  never  hesitated  ;  he  never  believed 
in  retreat ;  and  if  the  old  warrior  who  has  so  recently  relin 
quished  the  supreme  command  of  the  army  of  the  United 
States  had  a  poor  opinion  of  General  Logan  as  a  purely  mili 
tary  hero,  he  never  for  an  instant  denied  his  fighting  qualities 
nor  his  supreme  command  of  those  influences  that  turn  de 
feat  into  victory  and  make  a  march  a  triumph. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 
JOHN  A.  LOGAN  AT  HOME— MRS.  LOGAN  AND  HER  CARES — THE  WORK  SHK 

DOES    FOR  HERHUSBAND — A  TRUE   HELPMEET — JUSTICE  TO  CORRESPOND 
ENTS. 

THE  narrative  of  the  career  of  John  A.  Logan,  which  we 
have  followed  over  the  battlefields  of  two  wars  and 
through  many  of  the  stormier  years  of  Congressional  debate 
and  governmental  work,  could  not  be  brought  to  a  proper 
close  without  some  more  personal  reference  to  the  distin 
guished  gentleman  and  his  surroundings.  Mr.  Logan,  I 
should  premise,  is  not  a  different  man  in  his  own  home  from 
what  he  is  in  official  life,  as  are  so  many  men  in  American 
public  position.  He  is  at  all  times  courteous,  patient,  and 
affable. 

Let  me  attempt  a  pen-picture  of  him.  He  is  tall :  no 
hero — save  perhaps  Napoleon — was  ever  short;  he  is  swarthy 
in  complexion,  being  almost  bronze  in  color.  Then,  his  hair 
being  jet-black  and  worn  long,  it  is  no  wonder  popular  fancy 
erected  him  into  an  Indian,  or  at  least  of  Indian  descent. 
And  to  the  fancy  of  the  people  has  been  added  the  brain- 
fever  of  the  cartoonist ;  so  that  General  Logan  as  a  Mingo 
chief  has  been  perpetuated  until  he  has  in  this  character 
passed  into  history. 

General  Logan  is  broad-shouldered  and  heavy-framed.     He 

is  what  imagination  would  suggest  to  be  a  good  Indian-fighter. 

His  eye  is  dark  and  bright;  his  moustache  is  thick,  long  and 

drooping,  and  coal-black.     When  he  rises  to  speak,  there  is 

(490) 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  49  I 

an  air  of  perfect  self-determination  and  logical  positiveness 
that  is  remarkable,  while  it  is  decidedly  impressive.  In  speak 
ing  he  does  so  clearly,  with  a  sonorous,  strong  voice  and  a 
decided  manner  that  goes  a  long  way  toward  convincing  the 
hearer.  He  delights  in  the  work  his  constituents  have  in 
vited  him  to  do,  and  it  is  never  neglected.  He  may  be  on  one 
side  or  the  other,  he  may  be  over-impetuous,  but  nothing  is 
tossed  aside  as  too  trivial,  no  one  is  dismissed  without  a  hearing. 

General  Logan  is  a  strong  personality,  and  the  soldiers  who 
delighted  in  him  and  his  achievements  selected  a  very  signifi 
cant  nickname  when  they  bestowed  on  him  the  sobriquet  of 
"  Black  Jack."  It  was  at  once  a  term  of  endearment  and  of 
admiration. 

With  the  reader  we  will  look  in  on  General  Logan  in  his 
spacious  and  well-lined  library  on  the  evening  of  June  6, 
1884.  In  the  centre  of  a  small  group  he  sits  conversing 
with  some  friends.  The  conversation,  as  was  natural,  was 
upon  the  subject  of  Chicago  and  the  convention  assembled 
there  to  make  history.  In  the  adjoining  front  room  Mrs. 
Logan  was  conversing  with  a  party  numbering  eight  or  ten 
ladies  and  two  or  three  gentlemen.  A  card  was  brought  to 
the  general  by  the  colored  waiter,  followed  in  an  instant  by 
two  or  three  perspiring  gentlemen,  who  seized  General 
Logan's  hand  and  shook  it  heartily,  offering  him  congratu 
lations  upon  something  which  they  were  not  given  opportu 
nity  fully  to  explain.  There  was  a  momentary  sound  of  more 
excited  conversation  in  the  front  room,  as  if  something  of  an 
agreeable  nature  had  become  known  to  the  companions  of 
Mrs.  Logan ;  and  that  lady  entered  the  library  with  the  torn 
envelope  and  its  enclosure  in  her  hand. 

"Come,  papa;  here  is  something,"  she  said  as  she  grasped 
his  hand  to  lead  him  toward  the  light. 

A  shout  of  three  or  four  hoarse  voices  was  heard  from  the 


492  GEN.   JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

street.  A  lady  clad  in  pure  white  passed  Mrs.  Logan  and 
seized  both  of  the  general's  hands,  being  an  impressive  and 
evidently  very  welcome  greeting.  More  gentlemen  entered ; 
loud  shouts  came  from  the  streets.  Some  one  proposed  three 
cheers  for  something,  and  for  a  moment  the  result  drowned 
all  the  voices  in  the  room. 

"Very  happy!  Thanks!  Very  gratifying.  Nominated 
by  acclamation,  you  say  ?  Great  compliment.  Very  much 
obliged.  Yes,  yes !  Oh,  I  remember  you,  certainly." 

The  sound  of  teams  approaching  from  the  distance  lent  its 
help  to  swell  the  noise.  The  general's  face  at  first  salutation 
wore  a  look  of  something  resembling  surprise,  but  it  gave 
place  to  blushes  and  broad  smiles  as  he  was  seized  by  ladies 
and  gentlemen  and  conducted  to  the  front  window  in  response 
to  a  demand  from  the  street  below. 

"  Speech  !  Speech  !"  shouted  the  crowd  of  thousand  white 
and  colored  men  in  about  equal  proportions. 

Again  the  general,  now  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  his 
agreed  captors,  took  up  his  march.  The  way  was  cleared 
with  difficulty  through  the  hall,  down  the  stairs,  and  out 
to  the  front  door,  where,  standing  upon  the  steps  of  the 
mansion,  the  general  was  cheered  very  frequently  by  his 
visitors. 

Silence  was  secured,  and  General  Logan,  in  a  voice  inaudi 
ble  to  more  than  half  of  the  crowd,  said, 

"  Friends,  I  thank  you  for  your  kind  greeting  to-night.  I 
am  not  prepared  to  make  a  speech.  Again  I  thank  you. 
Good-night." 

General  and  Mrs.  Logan  were  then  conducted  back  to  the 
parlor  of  the  mansion,  and,  the  doors  being  thrown  open,  the 
crowds  pressed  in,  and,  forming  in  line,  filed  past,  shaking  the 
extended  hands  of  both  the  general  and  his  wife.  In  half  an 
hour  they  were  gone,  and  General  Logan  had  an  opportunity 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  493 

to  read  the  paper  which  Mrs.  Logan  had  brought  him  when 
the  quiet  of  their  home  was  first  disturbed.  It  proved  to  be 
the  Associated  Press  bulletin  announcing  his  nomination  by 
acclamation  for  the  Vice-Presidency. 

And  this  closing  allusion  brings  to  the  reader's  notice  Mrs. 
Logan — a  subject  of  the  most  profound  interest — a  woman 
who  has  been  of  the  greatest  possible  assistance  to  her  hus 
band  at  all  times.  Her  career  is  so  notable  and  has  exerted 
such  a  charming  influence  upon  that  of  her  husband  as  to 
demand  notice.  Let  us  measure  the  influences  that  shaped 
her  career  and  had  so  much  to  do  with  shaping  his. 

The  American  ancestry  of  Mrs.  Logan  goes  back  to  a 
sturdy  Irish  settler  of  Virginia  and  a  French  pioneer  of 
Louisiana.  Her  great-grandfather,  Robert  Cunningham  of 
Virginia,  was  a  soldier  of  the  War  for  Independence,  after 
which  he  removed  to  Tennessee,  thence  to  Alabama,  and 
thence  to  Illinois,  when  still  a  Territory,  and  there  manu 
mitted  his  slaves.  Her  father,  Captain  John  M.  Cunning 
ham,  served  in  the  fierce  Black  Hawk  War.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Legislature  of  Illinois  in  1845  and  1846, 
and  served  in  the  Mexican  War.  Her  mother  was  Miss 
Elizabeth  Fontaine,  of  a  distinguished  family  of  that  name 
which  had  arrived  in  Louisiana  during  the  French  occu 
pancy  of  that  country,  and  had  thence  journeyed  up  the 
Mississippi  River  and  settled  in  Missouri.  It  was  here  that 
John  Cunningham  met  his  bride,  and  it  was  near  the  present 
village  of  Sturgeon — then  known  as  Petersburg — in  Boone 
County,  Missouri,  that  Mary  Simmerson  Logan  was  born,  on 
August  15,  1838.  When  she  was  one  year  old,  her  parents 
removed  to  Illinois  and  settled  at  Marion,  in  Williamson 
County.  It  was  here  that  the  mother  and  her  oldest 
daughter,  then  but  nine  years  old,  shared  the  dangers  of  a 
frontier  home,  and  the  cares  and  solicitude  of  a  growing 


494  GKN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN. 

family,  when  the  husband  and  father  went  forth  to  fight  the 
battles  of  his  country  upon  the  parched  plains  of  Mexico  and 
braved  the  trials  and  privations  of  a  miner's  life  in  the  sierras 
of  California. 

This  courageous  and  dutiful  little  girl  relieved  her  mother, 
who  was  not  strong,  of  most  of  the  household  work,  and  still 
found  time  to  attend  the  primitive  school  of  the  neighborhood 
and  train  herself  in  useful  needlework.  The  father  felt  a  just 
pride  in  his  eldest  daughter.  The  assistance  which  she  had 
rendered  her  mother  during  his  long  absence  in  Mexico  and 
California  had  even  more  closely  endeared  her  to  his  heart, 
and  her  love  of  study  had  prompted  him  to  give  part  of  his 
income  to  her  proper  education.  Accordingly,  in  1853,  the 
daughter  was  sent  to  the  convent  of  St.  Vincent,  near  Mor- 
ganfield,  Kentucky,  a  branch  of  the  Nazareth  Institute,  the 
oldest  institution  of  the  kind  in  the  country.  This  was  the 
nearest  educational  establishment  of  sufficient  advancement  in 
the  higher  branches  of  knowledge.  The  young  lady  was 
reared  a  Baptist ;  after  her  marriage  she  joined  the  Meth 
odist  Church — the  Church  of  the  Logan  family. 

Having  graduated  in  1855,  Miss  Cunningham  returned  to 
her  father's  home  at  Shawneetown.  In  her  younger  days, 
when  a  mere  child,  she  had  aided  her  father  as  sheriff  of  the 
county,  clerk  of  the  court,  and  register  of  the  Land  Office  in 
preparing  his  papers.  Those  were  not  the  days  of  blank 
forms  for  legal  documents.  Accordingly,  the  father  depended 
upon  the  daughter  to  make  copies  for  him.  While  Mary 
Cunningham  was  thus  aiding  her  father  in  his  official  duties, 
John  A.  Logan  was  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  district.  He  had 
known  Father  Cunningham,  and  was  his  warm  friend  ;  he  had 
known  the  daughter  as  a  little  girl.  In  1855  they  were  mar 
ried,  and  at  once  went  to  the  young  attorney's  home  at  Benton, 
Franklin  County.  The  bride  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  but  her 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  495 

young  life  had  already  been  one  of  usefulness  to  her  mother 
and  of  great  service  to  her  father. 

The  young  wife  immediately  installed  herself  in  the  place 
of  companion  and  helpmeet  to  her  husband.  She  accom 
panied  him  on  all  his  professional  journeys — an  undertaking, 
in  those  days  of  wildernesses  and  no  roads,  often  requiring 
great  endurance  and  privation.  In  1856  the  devoted  wife  saw 
her  husband  triumphantly  elected  a  member  of  the  Legisla 
ture,  and  in  the  famous  Douglas  and  Lincoln  Senatorial  con 
test  he  was  elected  as  a  Douglas  Democrat  to  Congress.  In 
all  these  hard-fought  political  campaigns  the  noble  wife  went 
with  her  husband,  assisting  in  much  of  his  work  of  corre 
spondence  and  copying,  and  frequently  receiving  his  friends 
and  conferring  with  them  on  the  details  of  the  campaign. 
When  Mr.  Logan  came  to  Congress  as  a  Representative, 
Mrs.  Logan  came  with  him.  She  remained  with  him  in 
Washington  until  the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion,  when  he 
resigned  his  seat  in  Congress  to  return  to  Illinois  to  go 
into  the  service  of  his  country. 

The  war  having  commenced  and  Mr.  Logan  having  raised 
and  been  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Thirty-first  Illinois 
Volunteers,  Mrs.  Logan,  with  her  only  living  child,  then  three 
years  old  (now  Mrs.  Tucker),  returned  to  her  father's  home  at 
Marion.  The  Illinois  troops  having  been  ordered  into  camp 
at  Cairo,  Mrs.  Logan  joined  her  husband  there.  During  the 
fierce  battle  of  Belmont,  Mrs.  Logan  heard  the  booming  of 
the  guns  across  the  turgid  flood  of  the  Mississippi.  In  the 
midst  of  painful  and  anxious  suspense  for  the  safety  of  her 
own,  of  whom  she  felt  that  he  was  in  the  thickest  of  the  con 
flict,  she  gave  a  helping  hand  to  the  care  of  the  wounded  and 
suffering  soldiers  as  they  were  brought  back  from  that  bloody 
field. 

At  Memphis,  in  the  winter  of  1862-63,  Mrs.  Logan  again 


GEN.    JOHN    A.    LOGAN.  499 

'isits  of  congratulation  from  committees  and  individuals  from 
ill  parts  of  the  country. 

A  warm   friend   of  this  estimable  lady,  meeting  her  soon 
ifter  the  nomination,  spoke  to  her  concerning  the  increased 

vork  the  campaign  would  entail  upon  her,  to  which  she 
eturned  answer  in  such  form  that  an  often-put  question  has 

Deen  once  and  for  all  replied  to.     Here  are  her  words  : 

"A  great  deal  has  been  said  at  different  times  about  the 
ssistance  I  render  to  the  general  in  the  performance  of  his 

public  duties.  I  aid  him  by  relieving  him  of  many  details, 
iut  it  is  not  right  to  say  that  I  write  his  speeches,  because  it 
5  not  correct.  I  take  charge  of  his  correspondence,  and  I 
o  this  because  the  general  is  very  conscientious.  I  read  all 
.is  letters  and  lay  all  their  contents  before  him.  Most  public 

men  are  at  the  mercy  of  their  private  secretaries,  who  do  not 
lave  their  interests  at  heart,  and  who  often  abuse  the  confi- 
ence  reposed  in  them.  Every  correspondent  making  a 
easonable  request  is  entitled  to  some  sort  of  a  response, 
"he  general  has  never  deceived  any  one,  because  he  has 
:nown  the  contents  of  all  his  correspondence.  I  have  also 
one  much  copying,  and  have  marked  authorities  on  various 
ubjects  upon  which  he  proposed  to  speak.  I  belong  to  that 
lass  of  American  women  who  feel  that  the  glory  of  their 

lusbands   is   their  glory.     I   choose   rather  to   shine  in  the 

reflected  light  of  my  husband  than   to   put  myself  forward. 

It  has  always  been  my  sole  ambition  to  be  a  good  and  useful 

wife  and  a  true  mother.     I  have  been  the  companion  of  my 

husband,  and  I  think  this  is  the  sole  ambition  of  the  great 

mass  of  American  women,  as  it  should  be. 
29 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

THE  GREAT  ISSUE  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN — THE  TARIFF — WHAT  IT  MEANS  TO 

THE  MASSES. 

WE  have  now  come  to  that  portion  of  our  work  where 
an  intelligent  care  for  the  reader's  political  value,  as 
a  factor  in  this  campaign,  demands  that  some  consideration 
shall  be  given  to  the  great  question  that  to-day  divides  the 
two  contending  parties,  the  great  single  issue  upon  which  the 
campaign  of  1884  is  to  be  fought  and  won — the  Tariff.  It  is 
at  best  somewhat  of  a  dry  topic,  but  so  are  many  of  the  most 
vital  subjects  of  our  national  existence,  a  full  understanding 
of  which  is,  however,  necessary  to  intelligent  action,  and  to  the 
successful  operation  of  the  political  franchise. 

PROTECTION  AND  FREE  TRADE. 

The  tariff  question  is  the  only  live  question  now  dividing 
the  two  great  political  parties  of  this  country.  The  Repub 
lican  party  favors  a  "  Tariff  for  Protection "  of  American 
manufactures,  and  the  economic  principle  which  it  involves ; 
the  Democratic  party  favors  "  Free  Trade,"  and  the  economic 
principle  involved  in  free  trade,  though  some  members  of  the 
Democratic  party  are  in  favor  of  a  protective  tariff,  and  still 
others  desire  "A  Tariff  for  Revenue  Only."  Upon  this  issue 
the  Presidential  campaign  is  usually  fought,  and  it  is  safe  to 
say  it  will  be  the  political  issue  for  many  years  to  come. 

A  "  Tariff  for  Protection  "  means  an  imposition  of  "  duties  ' 
(500) 


THE   TARIFF.  5<DI 

or  cash  penalties  upon  goods  of  foreign  manufacture,  and  the 
raw  material  contributing  to  the  same,  in  order  that  the  price 
of  these  goods  when  sold  in  the  American  market  shall  be  so 
high  that  the  American  manufacturer  can  afford  to  sell  his 

^oods  at  a  lower  price.     In  other  words  the  American  manu- 

:acturer  is  given  an  advantage  by  law  that  he  would  not  have 
otherwise  :  he  is  protected  in  his  industry  by  his  government. 
The  reason  for  such  protection  being  found  in  the  fact  that 
the  foreign  manufacturer  pays  so  little  for  labor,  that  he  has  a 
decided  advantage  over  his  American  competitor  in  the  first 
cost  of  the  goods. 

"A  Tariff  for  Revenue  Only"  is  the  imposition  of  a  tax  or 
duty  upon  imported  articles  mainly  of  luxury,  such  as  wines, 

iquors,  and  tobacco,  in  order  to  raise  a  revenue  to  carry  on  the 
general  government,  and  in  no  sense  to  afford  American  manu- 

acturers  any  government  aid  or  comfort.  This  doctrine  de 
nies  the  necessity  for  government  protection  in  any  form  to 
the  business  of  private  persons. 

"  Free  Trade  "  means  no  tax  or  duty  upon  imports  of  any 
sort  or  description,  and  intends  that  the  money  needed  to 
carry  on  the  government  shall  be  raised  by  direct  taxation  of 
American  citizens,  or  of  articles  of  luxury — such  as  tobacco 
and  spirits — produced  in  the  United  States. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  TARIFF  LEGISLATION. 

The  tariff  is  by  no  means  a  question  of  recent  years.  It 
first  came  to  the  front  in  the  earliest  times  of  the  Republic : 
the  first  bill  upon  the  subject  passed  by  Congress  having  been 
made  a  law  by  the  signature  of  Washington  on  July  4,  1789. 
This  bill  was  tentative  and  experimental.  It  was  intended  to 
protect  our  industries,  but  from  lack  of  knowledge  of  the 
subject  the  duties  were  not  made  high  enough  to  accomplish 


5O2  THE   TARIFF. 

the  purpose.  Upon  the  passage  of  the  bill  England  at  once 
resorted  to  the  most  extraordinary  measures  to  meet  the 
policy  thus  adopted.  Stringent  laws  were  enacted  by  Parlia 
ment  to  prevent  patterns,  machines,  or  skilled  workmen  from 
coming  to  this  country.  Congress  in  a  measure  retaliated 
with  a  succession  of  statutes  to  protect  American  industries. 
The  war  of  1812,  which  placed  an  embargo  on  English  man 
ufactures,  which  had  been  sold  in  the  United  States  at  a  great 
loss  in  order  to  break  down  the  American  manufacturer,  and 
destroy  his  market,  gave  the  first  real  impetus  to  manufactur 
ing  industries  in  this  country.  This  prosperity  continued 
until  1816,  when  the  free  traders  mustered  a  majority  in  Con 
gress,  and  forthwith  reduced  the  tariff".  With  this  action  a 
blight  fell  upon  the  American  manufacturer's  business.  The 
triumph  of  the  free  traders  was  purchased  at  the  cost  of  dis 
aster  to  the  Republic,  which  was  not  retrieved  until  the  Pro 
tectionists  enacted  the  tariff  of  1824.  Of  these  seven  years 
of  trouble,  enacted  by  law,  James  Buchanan  said  in  Congress : 
"  The  manufacturers  and  laborers  have  both  been  thrown  out 
of  employment,  and  the  neighboring  farmer  is  without  a  mar 
ket."  So  also  Henry  Clay,  the  great  Kentuckian,  selected  as 
the  seven  years  which  "  exhibited  a  scene  of  the  most  wide 
spread  dismay  and  desolation,  that  term  of  seven  years  which 
immediately  preceded  the  tariff  of  1824."  The  reason  for  the 
depression  and  stagnation  of  American  industries  during 
these  seven  years  is  graphically  described  in  The  League,  the 
organ  of  the  free  traders,  which,  alluding  to  this  period,  says, 
"The  foreign  manufacturers  contrived  to  reduce  the  cost  of 
producing  their  goods,  and  submitted  to  a  reduction  of  profits 
in  order  to  keep  as  much  as  they  could  of  American  trade  by 
counteracting  the  tariff.  The  American  manufacturers  found 
their  profits  diminished  -by  the  rise  in  the  cost  of  labor  and 


THE    TARIFF  503 

subsistence,  while  foreign  manufacturers  were  in  the  midst  of 
a  superabundant  supply  of  labor,  which  had  no  competing 
opening,  and  which  could  therefore  be  had  for  the  asking  at 
the  lowest  wages  on  which  people  could  live." 

The  demonstration  of  this  disastrous  state  of  affairs  pro 
duced  the  tariff  of  1824 — the  first  really  protective  tariff  passed 
by  Congress  in  time  of  peace.  Four  years  after  its  enactment 
the  duties  were  further  increased.  The  policy  pursued  by  the 
National  Government  at  this  time  received  the  endorsement 
of  several  State  legislatures,  including  that  of  New  York. 
That  it  was  a  wise  and  sound  policy,  a  policy  well  adapted  to 
the  needs  of  the  country,  is  well  testified  to  in  the  words  of 
Henry  Clay :  "  If  the  term  were  to  be  selected  of  greatest 
prosperity  which  the  people  have  enjoyed  since  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution,  it  would  be  exactly  that  period  which  fol 
lowed  the  adoption  of  the  tariff  of  1824.  This  transforma 
tion  has  been  mainly  the  work  of  American  legislation  foster 
ing  American  industry  instead  of  allowing  it  to  be  controlled 
by  foreign  legislation  cherishing  foreign  industry." 

The  next  marked  change  in  the  tariff  occurred  in  1833,  when 
what  was  called  the  "  sliding  tariff"  was  enacted.  It  provided 
for  the  gradual  reduction  of  the  tariff  on  a  sliding  scale  till 
1842,  when  a  horizontal  duty  of  20  per  cent,  was  to  be  the  rate. 
This  marked  the  entrance  of  politics  into  this  question. 
Southern  sectionalism  dominated.  The  effect  was  the  panic 
of  1837,  perhaps  the  most  disastrous  in  our  history.  Farmers 
sold  corn,  apples,  and  potatoes  at  12^  cents  a  bushel;  a  cow 
and  calf  for  $7.  Agricultural  products  were  exchanged  at 
stores  for  other  articles,  and  not  for  cash ;  furnace  fires  went 
out,  and  manufacturing  ceased.  Labor  was  nowhere  in  de 
mand.  It  was  a  period  of  complete  prostration  and  wide- 
.spread  disaster. 


5O2  THE   TARIFF. 

the  purpose.  Upon  the  passage  of  the  bill  England  at  once 
resorted  to  the  most  extraordinary  measures  to  meet  the 
policy  thus  adopted.  Stringent  laws  were  enacted  by  Parlia 
ment  to  prevent  patterns,  machines,  or  skilled  workmen  from 
coming  to  this  country.  Congress  in  a  measure  retaliated 
with  a  succession  of  statutes  to  protect  American  industries. 
The  war  of  1812,  which  placed  an  embargo  on  English  man 
ufactures,  which  had  been  sold  in  the  United  States  at  a  great 
loss  in  order  to  break  down  the  American  manufacturer,  and 
destroy  his  market,  gave  the  first  real  impetus  to  manufactur 
ing  industries  in  this  country.  This  prosperity  continued 
until  1816,  when  the  free  traders  mustered  a  majority  in  Con 
gress,  and  forthwith  reduced  the  tariff.  With  this  action  a 
blight  fell  upon  the  American  manufacturer's  business.  The 
triumph  of  the  free  traders  was  purchased  at  the  cost  of  dis 
aster  to  the  Republic,  which  was  not  retrieved  until  the  Pro 
tectionists  enacted  the  tariff  of  1824.  Of  these  seven  years 
of  trouble,  enacted  by  law,  James  Buchanan  said  in  Congress: 
"  The  manufacturers  and  laborers  have  both  been  thrown  out 
of  employment,  and  the  neighboring  farmer  is  without  a  mar 
ket."  So  also  Henry  Clay,  the  great  Kentuckian,  selected  as 
the  seven  years  which  "  exhibited  a  scene  of  the  most  wide 
spread  dismay  and  desolation,  that  term  of  seven  years  which 
immediately  preceded  the  tariff  of  1824."  The  reason  for  the 
depression  and  stagnation  of  American  industries  during 
these  seven  years  is  graphically  described  in  The  League,  the 
organ  of  the  free  traders,  which,  alluding  to  this  period,  says, 
"The  foreign  manufacturers  contrived  to  reduce  the  cost  of 
producing  their  goods,  and  submitted  to  a  reduction  of  profits 
in  order  to  keep  as  much  as  they  could  of  American  trade  by 
counteracting  the  tariff.  The  American  manufacturers  found 
their  profits  diminished  .by  the  rise  in  the  cost  of  labor  and 


THE    TARIFF  503 

subsistence,  while  foreign  manufacturers  were  in  the  midst  of 
a  superabundant  supply  of  labor,  which  had  no  competing 
opening,  and  which  could  therefore  be  had  for  the  asking  at 
the  lowest  wages  on  which  people  could  live." 

The  demonstration  of  this  disastrous  state  of  affairs  pro 
duced  the  tariff  of  1824 — the  first  really  protective  tariff  passed 
by  Congress  in  time  of  peace.  Four  years  after  its  enactment 
the  duties  were  further  increased.  The  policy  pursued  by  the 
National  Government  at  this  time  received  the  endorsement 
of  several  State  legislatures,  including  that  of  New  York. 
That  it  was  a  wise  and  sound  policy,  a  policy  well  adapted  to 
the  needs  of  the  country,  is  well  testified  to  in  the  words  of 
Henry  Clay :  "  If  the  term  were  to  be  selected  of  greatest 
prosperity  which  the  people  have  enjoyed  since  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution,  it  would  be  exactly  that  period  which  fol 
lowed  the  adoption  of  the  tariff  of  1824.  This  transforma 
tion  has  been  mainly  the  work  of  American  legislation  foster 
ing  American  industry  instead  of  allowing  it  to  be  controlled 
by  foreign  legislation  cherishing  foreign  industry." 

The  next  marked  change  in  the  tariff  occurred  in  1833,  when 
what  was  called  the  "  sliding  tariff"  was  enacted.  It  provided 
for  the  gradual  reduction  of  the  tariff  on  a  sliding  scale  till 
1842,  when  a  horizontal  duty  of  20  per  cent,  was  to  be  the  rate. 
This  marked  the  entrance  of  politics  into  this  question. 
Southern  sectionalism  dominated.  The  effect  was  the  panic 
of  1837,  perhaps  the  most  disastrous  in  our  history.  Farmers 
sold  corn,  apples,  and  potatoes  at  12^  cents  a  bushel;  a  cow 
and  calf  for  $7.  Agricultural  products  were  exchanged  at 
stores  for  other  articles,  and  not  for  cash ;  furnace  fires  went 
out,  and  manufacturing  ceased.  Labor  was  nowhere  in  de 
mand.  It  was  a  period  of  complete  prostration  and  wide- 
.spread  disaster. 


504 


THE   TARIFF. 


Following  this  came  the  protective  tariff  of  1842,  which 
was  repealed  by  the  casting  vote  of  George  M.  Dallas  in  1846. 
Under  the  tariff  of  1842  our  iron  product  rose  from  230,000 
tons  to  765,000  tons  in  1846  ;  under  the  ad  valorem  tariff,  en 
acted  that  year,  it  declined  until  in  1853  it  was  only  500,000. 

Certain  changes  of  more  or  less  importance,  but  relating 
only  to  "  items"  of  the  tariff,  were  enacted  during  the  years 
between  1861  and  1881.  The  development  of  trade  and  its 
subsequent  changes  in  the  cost  prices  of  certain  goods,  com 
bining  with  a  wide-spread  feeling  that  the  tariff  should  be  re 
vised  upon  some  systematic  basis,  led  to  the  appointment,  in 
1882,  of  a  Tariff  Commission  authorized  by  Congress  to  in 
quire  into  the  matter  thoroughly,  and  to  report  a  bill  that 
should  cover  the  needed  reforms.  This  was  done,  resulting  in 
the  Tariff  Act  of  1883,  which  is  the  tariff  at  present  in  force. 
During  the  session  of  Congress  just  closed,  various  attempts 
were  made  by  the  Democrats  in  the  House  to  return  again  to 
the  pernicious  doctrine  of  free  trade.  Mr.  Morrison,  of  Illinois, 
introduced  a  bill  which  made  a  horizontal  reduction  of  all 
duties  through  the  whole  list.  His  bill  was,  however,  defeated 
by  the  votes  of  the  Republicans  and  some  Democrats  under 
the  lead  of  Mr.  Randall,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  saw  clearly 
enough  to  know  what  were  the  country's  true  interests.  They 
saw,  and  by  their  votes  acknowledged,  that  the  effect  of  a  pro 
tective  tariff  and  free  trade  had  been  uniform.  In  all  cases 
the  country  declined  under  free  trade,  and  gained  in  prosperity 
under  protective  tariffs.  There  has  not  been  a  single  break  in 
this  uniform  experience.  The  great  economist,  Henry  C, 
Carey,  thus  states  it :  "  Protection  as  established  in  1813,1 838, 
1842  gave,  as  that  of  1861  is  giving — great  demand  for  labor, 
wages  high  and  money  cheap,  public  and  private  revenues 
large,  and  immigration  great  and  constantly  increasing,  public 


THE   TARIFF.  5°5 

and  private  prosperity  great  beyond  all  previous  experience, 
growing  national  independence.  British  free-trade  as  estab 
lished  in  1817,  1834,  1846,  and  1857  bequeathed  to  its  succes 
sor — labor  everywhere  seeking  to  be  employed,  wages  low 
and  money  high,  public  and  private  revenues  small  and 
steadily  decreasing,  immigration  declining,  public  and  private 
bankruptcy  nearly  universal,  ruining  national  independence." 
The  defeat  of  the  Morrison  bill  ended  the  tariff  agitation  in 
Congress  up  to  the  summer  of  1884. 

The  Tariff  Act  of  July  4,  1789,  enumerated  ninety-nine 
items  of  taxation.  In  1816  the  number  of  items  had  risen  to 
234;  in  1842  to  821  ;  in  1872  to  1,519,  and  in  1883  to  over 
2,000,  which  shows  how  carefully  the  whole  question  had  been 
analyzed  and  considered  in  order  that  only  the  most  intelligent 
legislation  should  prevail.  As  at  present  existing  the  tariff 
is  likely  to  remain  unchanged,  except  in  a  few  items,  for  some 
years  to  come. 

LABOR,  ITS  RIGHTS  AND  PRIVILEGES. 

The  foundation  of  our  national  prosperity  is  to  be  found  in 
our  labor,  the  work  of  the  people.  This  country  with  its 
diversified  natural  resources,  its  varied  climate,  its  clear-brained 
inventors  and  skilled  artisans,  and  with  a  system  of  civiliza 
tion  and  government  under  which  labor  is  honorable,  offers 
the  best  conditions  for  labor  the  world  has  ever  seen.  It  has 
been  estimated  that  every  day  each  laborer  produces  at  least 
half  a  dollar  of  permanent,  solid  wealth.  We  have  IO,OOO,OOO 
of  workers.  Thus  $5,000,000  a  clay  are  added  to  the  wealth 
of  the  country.  Surely  an  agency  so  important  and  one  that 
is  at  the  very  foundation  of  our  prosperity,  deserves  the  most 
careful  and  cordial  consideration !  The  respectability  of  labor, 
its  honor  among  the  people,  its  maintenance,  the  comfort  and 


5O6  THE    TARIFF. 

intelligence  of  our  workers,  all  demand  the  most  considerate 
attention.  If  labor  is  degraded,  our  civilization  will  be  lowered 
and  our  wealth  will  decline.  And  the  moment  labor  shall  fail 
to  receive  a  fair  share  of  the  wealth  it  shall  produce,  or  shall 
be  compelled  to  forego  home  comforts  or  educational  advan 
tages,  we  will  start  on  a  decline,  which  will  ultimately  take 
away  our  glory  and  squander  our  prosperity.  It  will  not  be 
labor  alone  that  will  suffer,  but  the  nation  will  share  its  part. 
Hence,-  labor,  as  the  foundation  of  our  wealth,  should  be 
maturely  studied.  All  its  conditions,  every  element  of  strength 
that  attaches  to  it,  and  all  that  shall  advance  or  depreciate  it 
should  be  looked  after.  And,  as  therefore  it  is  the  source  of 
all  wealth  and  prosperity,  should  we  not  encourage  and  pro 
tect  it  ? 

Capital,  like  labor,  has  certain  rights  and  privileges.  We 
can  form  an  idea  of  what  these  are  when  we  accept  certain 
facts.  Capitalists  regard  security  first,  and  will  take  less  for 
money  if  the  security  is  ample.  Government  bonds,  our  best 
security,  will  command  capital  at  three  per  cent.  Railroad 
bonds  command  from  four  to  five  per  cent. ;  real  estate  five  to 
six  per  cent. ;  and  less  valid  securities  seven  to  eight  or  more. 
Capital  invested  in  business  usually  expects  from  ten  to  twenty- 
fivc  per  cent.,  because  of  risks,  care,  and  management.  Labor 
on  the  other  hand  asks  enough  for  comfortable  support — 
a  dollar  a  day  for  unskilled,  and  up  to  five  or  ten  dollars  for 
skilled  labor.  These  are  the  primary  facts.  After  these  come 
the  competition — the  law  of  supply  and  demand. 

Labor  is  a  commodity,  to  be  sold  in  the  open  market.  It  is 
governed,  as  is  any  other  salable  article,  by  the  law  of  supply 
and  demand.  If  labor  is  in  greater  supply  than  the  market 
will  readily  take,  the  price  goes  down.  If  it  is  in  large  de 
mand,  the  price  strengthens.  The  entire  population  of  the 


THE   TARIFF.  5O/ 

rorld  is  capable  of  producing  more  than  it  will  consume. 

[ence,  in  the   dense  population  of  the  Old  World  labor  is 
:heap.     While  the  cost  of  living,  equality  considered,  in  Eu 
rope  equals  that  of  this  country,  the  price  of  labor  is  from 
>ne-third  to  two-thirds  less.     Where  the  European  manufac- 
:urer  pays  francs  or  marks,  the  American  manufacturer  pays 
(dollars.     The   law   of  supply   and   demand    regulates   these 
[things. 

Therefore  the  real  threat  and  danger  both  to  capital  and 
labor,  and  equally  to  both,  comes  from  abroad.  England  has 
five  thousand  millions  of  surplus  capital.  It  could  lose  a 
thousand  millions  of  dollars  if  thereby  it  could  permanently 
break  down  our  manufactories  and  control  our  markets.  Eu 
rope  is  densely  populated,  and  all  kinds  of  labor  are  in  excess 
of  the  demand.  This  low-priced  labor  threatens  us.  Hence 
both  capital  and  labor  are  threatened  from  abroad.  Our  dan 
ger  is  from  overcrowded,  capitalized  Europe.  There  labor  is 
oppressed  and  capital  powerful.  And  it  is  not  necessary  that 
foreign  capital  or  labor  should  come  here  in  their  original  form 
to  compete  with  us.  So  long  as  the  products  of  cheap  labor 
or  of  superabundant  capital  come  here  and  compete  in  our 
markets,  we  have  the  labor  and  capital  of  Europe  as  really 
here  as  though  both  were  bodily  transferred  to  us.  If  English 
cotton  goods,  or  iron  and  steel,  can  come  into  our  markets  and 
undersell  our  manufactures,  of  the  same  sort,  we  have  English 
cheap  labor  and  redundant  capital  competing  with  us.  So 
with  Belgian  glass  or  French  silks.  Hence  this  is  the  great 
point  where  labor  especially,  and  weak  capital  as  well,  need  to 
be  protected.  And  it  can  only  be  done  by  "  Protection." 

FREE  TRADE  AND  ITS  MALIGN  INFLUENCE. 
Let  us  consider  a  few  evident  propositions.      I.  Our  Gov- 


508  THE   TARIFF. 

ernment  is  of  the  people,  for  the  people  and  by  the  people. 
2.  Its  duty  is  to  care  for  the  people.  3.  It  belongs  to  and  is 
regulated  by  the  people.  4.  Its  wealth  is  produced  by  the 
labors  of  the  people ;  and  this  wealth,  in  the  form  of  capital, 
is  employed  in  connection  with  labor  to  produce  other  wealth. 
5.  We  have  elevated  labor  higher,  as  regards  intelligence  and 
comfort,  than  was  ever  done  before.  6.  This  labor  is 
threatened  by  the  cheap  and  oppressed  labor  of  Europe. 

In  the  face  of  this  danger  two  lines  of  policy  arc  proposed. 
One  by  the  Democratic  party  is  to  open  our  ports  to  the  free 
importation  of  foreign  manufactures,  which,  as  we  have  shown, 
is  the  importation  of  cheap  labor  and  redundant  capital  of 
Europe  in  competition  with  ours.  The  other  by  the  Repub 
lican  party  is  to  levy  a  tax,  or  tariff,  on  such  imported  articles 
in  order  that  the  price  may  be  made  to  reach  the  level  at 
which  our  manufactures  can  be  sold  at  a  profit.  The  first  of 
these  is  called  free  trade.  The  other,  a  protective  tariff.  The 
two  have  occasioned  elaborate  and  envenomed  discussion. 

It  should  be  observed  that  the  principle  involved  is  different 
from  that  which  we  believe  to  be  of  vital  interest  to  the  work 
ing  man.  It  is  trade,  not  labor,  and  its  remuneration.  Free 
trade  is,  strictly  speaking,  free,  uninterrupted  barter  between 
individuals  and  nations — the  mere  exchange  of  products  and 
manufactures — and  so  of  labor.  But  it  is  well  to  notice  that 
free  trade  is  not  equal  trade.  The  nation  that  can  barter 
its  skilled  labor  with  the  unskilled  labor  of  another  has  the 
advantage,  in  that  skilled  labor  produces  greater  value  than 
unskilled.  And  the  nation  that  trades  with  the  products  of 
skilled  labor  always  beats  those  who  trade  on  the  product  of 
unskilled  labor.  Here  is  the  source  of  England's  wealth. 
Her  statesmen  saw  this  point  over  a  century  ago.  She  pre 
pared  to  grow  rich  on  the  world's  trade.  How?  By  chang- 


THE    TARIFF. 

g  her  unskilled  into  skilled  labor.  To  do  this  she  estab- 
shed  manufactories,  enacted  prohibitory  tariffs — that  is,  duties 
high  that  the  article  could  not  be  imported  in  competition 
ith  her  industries.  She  held  her  colonies  down  and  kept 
leir  labor  unskilled.  At  last  she  was  able  to  compete,  and 
len  advocated  free  trade. 

But  even  when  thus  prepared  to  outtrade  the  world  Eng- 
nd  did  not  adopt  free  trade.     She  maintains  a  tariff  on  cer- 
in  articles  which  gives  her  a  revenue  quite  equal  to  what  we 
ceive   from   ours.     She   favors   free  trade  where  it  is  to  her 
nterest,  and  maintains  a  tariff  where  that  is  to  her  advantage. 
he  policy  of  England  is  selfish.     She    seeks   to   beat   the 
orld  at  trade.     Why  ?    Because    she    must  be  a  bartering 
ation.     She   does   not   raise  enough  on  her  own  soil  to  sup- 
ort  her  population.     So  she  trades.     And  she  treats,  as  re 
gards  trade,  her  colonies  as  foreign  nations — to  be  outtraded 
and  made  to  contribute  to  the  wealth  of  the  mother  country. 
So  the  countries  where  her  trade  is  dominant  are  poor — she  is 
rich.     Canada,  right  alongside  of  us,  and  with  as  rich  lands  in 
the  great  Saskatchewan  Valley  as  we  have,  and  with  the  ability 
to  feed  the  world,  is  poor  and  develops  slowly.    Why  ?  Because 
England  sucks  her  dry.     India,  naturally  rich,  grows  steadily 
poorer.     Why  ?  Because  England  only  aims  to  enrich  herself 
out  of  India.     South  America,  where  English  trade  is  domi 
nant,  is  poor,  because  it  trades  its  unskilled  labor  for  English 
skilled  labor.     Cuba  is  poor,  for  the  same  reason.     So  trade, 
were  it  free,  would  not  be  equal  so  long  as  one  nation  has 
such  a  start  over  another. 

Our  great  object  has  ever  been  to  protect  and  elevate  labor. 
The  first  attempt  at  legislation  when  Congress  met  under  the 
Republic  was  in  the  interest  of  labor.  The  aim  was  to  pro 
tect  it  against  foreign  capital  and  oppressed  labor.  It  took 


5IO  THE    TARIFF. 

several  years  to  ascertain  just  what  a  protective  tariff  was— 
but  it  was  aimed  at  from  the  first.  And  our  history  clearly 
shows  that  when  we  have  had  a  protective  tariff  we  have 
prospered,  and  when  we  abandoned  it  we  have  gone  back. 
Qur  national  debt  proves  this.  We  have  always  increased  our 
national  debt  under  free  trade,  and  reduced  it  under  a  tariff. 
The  tariff  of  1842,  for  example,  was  offset  for  a  time  by  the 
Florida  war.  Yet  the  debt  of  $27,203,451  in  1843  was  re 
duced  to  $16,750,926  in  1846,  when  the  Mexican  war  began. 
In  July,  1857,  the  debt  stood  at  $29,060,387.  In  1860  it  had 
risen  to  $64,769,703;  and  in  1861,  when  Lincoln  became 
President,  it  was  $88,995,810.  Even  free  traders  will  admit 
that  national  finances  reflect  the  average  condition  of  the 
country.  And  as  under  twenty  years  of  protective  tariff  we 
have  paid  a  thousand  three  hundred  millions  of  the  debt  left 
by  the  rebellion,  this  point  is  conclusive.  When  a  nation  can 
pay  its  debts,  and  its  people  live  prosperous  and  contented,  it 
is  in  good  condition.  And  as  labor  is  the  basis  of  that  pros 
perity,  it  is  prosperous.  Hence  we  hold  that  a  tariff  is  the 
best  arrangement  yet  devised  to  protect  the  interests  of  labor. 
And  we  do  this  to  advance  the  condition  of  labor  and  develop 
the  wealth  of  the  country. 

The  argument  for  free  trade  is  substantially  as  follows: 
Trading  is  a  natural  right.  The  world  is  the  market.  In  that 
market  all  should  be  free  to  purchase  as  cheaply  as  possible. 
Certain  articles,  as  iron  and  stee)  in  England,  and  silks  in 
France,  can  be  produced  more  cheaply  than  here.  Hence  we 
should  freely  open  our  markets  to  those  foreign  goods,  that 
our  people  may  have  the  benefit  of  the  lowest  prices. 
Another  free  trade  argument  is  that  protective  tariffs  build  up 
monopolies,  favor  the  few,  and  enrich  them  at  the  expense  of 
the  many.  These  points  fairly  state,  we  think,  the  current 
claims  of  the  free  traders. 


THE   TARIFF.  511 

1.  Let  us  set  off  against  the  general  statement  of  the  free 
ade  view  the  equally  general  statement  of  the  protectionist 
ew.     This  is  that  the  rights  of  the  few  are  subordinate  to  the 
ghts  and  interests  of  the  many.     A  man  has  the  right  to  set 
p  a  slaughter-house,  but  if  this  becomes  a  nuisance  to  others 

can  be  abated  as  a  nuisance.     All  protectionists  hold  to  free 
rade  among  the  States  of  this  Union,     We  have  a  common 
nterest,  and  hence  free  trade  between  the  States,  because  of 
heir  political  affinities,  is  accepted  by  all.     We  also  favor  free 
:rade  in  all   products  which   do  not  come  into  competition 
ith  those  of  our  people.     We  import  tea  and  coffee  and 
any  other  articles  in   large  use  free  of  duty.     Why  ?     Be- 
ause  they  are  recognized  as  not  in  competition  with  our  pro- 
ucts,  and  are  in  general   use  among  our  people.     We  are 
opposed  to  free  trade  where  the  article  traded  in,  coming  from 
a  foreign  country,  competes  with,  and  so  affects  those  of  our 
own   country,  interested,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  the  same 
product  or  manufacture.     So  we  are  all  free  traders  as  to 
home  markets,  and  with  regard  to  foreign  products  in  general 
use  among  our  people,  and  that  do  not  compete  with  us.   The 
issue  narrows,  therefore,  to  competitive  foreign  products.     Let 
this,  then,  be  kept  clearly  in  mind. 

2.  There  is  an  implied  assumption  among  free  traders  that 
some  other  country  practices  free  trade,  and  that  in  adopting 
it  we  are  reaching  up  to  the  highest  plane  on  this  subject.  v 
England  is  usually  regarded  as  a  free  trade  nation,  because 
she  advocates   it  as   a  theory.     England  levies  a   tariff  on 
wines,  spirits,  tobacco,  and  other  articles,  to  an  extent  that 
gives  her  a  revenue  from  this  source  about  equal  to  what  this 
country  receives  from  all  sources.     There  is  not,  in  practice,  a 
free-trading  nation  in  the  civilized  world.     And  within  the 
past  twenty  years,  in  building  up  her  commercial  marine, 


512  THE   TARIFF. 

England  has  employed  the  protective  or  subsidy  principle  so 
strongly  as  to  compel  France,  Italy,  and  Germany  to  adopt 
the  same  policy.  So  it  is  an  utter  absurdity  to  claim  that 
England  or  any  other  is  a  free-trading  nation.  She  simply 
wants  free  trade  where  her  interests  call  for  it,  but  not  any 
where  else. 

3.  We  deny  that  free  trade  cheapens  the  market.  This 
point  has  been  practically  tested  in  this  country  over  and 
over.  We  have  had  so  many  changes  in  our  tariff  laws,  from 
protective  tariffs  to  practical  free  trade,  that  this  question  has 
been  tested  several  times.  Our  fathers,  on  the  formation  of 
the  government,  started  out  to  protect  our  industries.  A 
number  of  years  elapsed  before  they  could  ascertain  just  what 
would  be  a  protective  duty.  In  the  competitive  struggles  that 
ensued  prices  were  marked  down.  When  at  last  we  had  pro 
tective  tariffs  prices  advanced,  no  doubt,  but  that  of  labor  ad 
vanced  at  least  in  equal  ratio.  When  the  tariff  was  taken  off 
and  the  panic  of  1837  followed,  prices  were  low,  but  that  of 
labor  was  lower,  and  intense  suffering  was  general.  ,  When 
the  tariff  of  1842  was  adopted  manufactures  revived,  and 
while  prices  advanced,  that  of  labor  was  again  more  favored 
than  any  other.  Under  the  sliding  scale,  by  which  we  drifted 
back  again  into  the  ad  valorem  tariff,  labor  suffered  as  indus 
tries  went  down.  The  panic  of  1857  found  the  nation  pros 
trate.  The  point  here  is  that  the  cheapness  or  dearness  of  a 
market  is  not  absolute,  but  relative.  What  labor  will  pur 
chase  is  the  real  test — not  how  much  a  pound  each  of  several 
articles  may  cost.  If  man's  work  in  a  week  will,  in  a  high 
market,  purchase  more  comforts  for  his  family  than  it  will  in  a 
low  market,  he  is  benefited.  And  it  is  a  well-settled  fact  that 
labor  cannot  be  well  remunerated  when  our  markets  are 
cheapened  through  the  competition  of  foreign  labor. 


THE    TARIFF.  513 

But  this  point  admits  of  absolute  demonstration.  It  has 
been  found  that  when  our  industries  have  been  protected  long 
enough  to  get  on  their  feet,  our  manufactures  do  compete  in 
cheapness  and  quality  with  those  abroad.  We  to-day  manu 
facture  cotton  goods  against  the  world.  England  has  been 
compelled  to  adulterate  her  cotton  manufactures  in  order  to 
lold  the  Oriental  markets  against  us.  And  she  has  even 
brged  the  trade-marks  of  American  houses.  And  coarse 
cotton  cloths,  which  before  the  tariff  of  1824  sold  at  24  cents 
)er  yard,  were  under  it  reduced  to  7^  cents.  Before  we  had 
developed  the  manufacture  of  steel  rails  the  price  was  $150 
3er  ton  in  gold,  equal  then  to  $225  in  our  currency.  Now 
:hey  are  $35  per  ton.  The  tariff  on  steel  rails  is  what  brought 
up  this  industry  in  this  country,  and  the  uniform  experience 
las  been  that  when  our  tariffs  have  been  reduced,  and  the 
enormous  capital  of  Europe  has  succeeded  in  crippling  or  de 
stroying  our  manufactures  the  prices  have  been  largely  ad 
vanced.  We  have  always  been  compelled  to  pay  the  cost  of 
our  ruin.  Just  as  the  successful  nation  in  war  makes  the  de 
feated  nation  pay  the  expense,  so  has  it  been  with  our  tariff. 
Germany  made  France  pay  a  thousand  millions  of  dollars  for 
the  war  of  Sedan.  Who  knows  how  much  England  has  taxed 
us  on  broken  industries  ? 

The  strong  point  with  free  traders  is  the  assumption  that 
the  tariff  builds  up  monopolies,  gives  capital  power  over  labor, 
and  increases  the  cost  of  certain  articles.  General  Grant, 
when  in  England,  constantly  had  free-trade  sentiments  urged 
upon  him  in  speeches  of  welcome.  He  finally  was  provoked 
to  reply  that  in  this  country  we  remembered  that  England 
maintained  rigid  tariffs  until  she  had  established  her  indus-. 
tries,  and  adopted  free  trade  only  when  she  could  afford  it 
through  the  cheapening  of  her  processes  of  manufacture,  and 


5H  THE   TARIFF. 

probably  we  would  do  the  same.  It  ended  all  allusions  to  the 
subject.  The  falsity  of  the  claim  thus  set  up  by  free  traders 
may  be  made  evident  in  several  ways.  i.  Competition  is  the 
great  cheapener.  The  larger  the  number  who  enter  a  given 
line  of  business  the  sharper  the  competition,  and  the  lower  the 
prices.  This  is  a  universal  law.  The  time  was  when  railroads 
in  this  country  were  monopolies  and  charged  high  rates. 
When  they  became  abundant  the  monopolies  were  broken  and 
rates  cheapened,  until  now  freighters  have  quite  as  much  to 
say  about  freight-rates  as  the  railroad  companies.  The  exact 
object  of  our  tariff  is  to  encourage  capital  to  engage  in  man 
ufactures  and  so  produce  competition.  When  England  man 
ufactured  for  the  world  she  charged  her  own  prices,  and  only 
cheapened  them  when  competition  threatened.  We  propose 
to  keep  them  cheap  by  maintaining  competition. 

2.  Experience  amply  teaches  that  we  can  have  no  perma 
nent  monopolies.  The  nearest  to  it  we  have  had  in  steel 
manufacture  was  that  of  Bessemer  steel  rails.  But  England 
was  charging  $150  per  ton,  gold,  when  our  plants  were  es 
tablished.  Now  the  price  is  $35  per  ton.  Why?  We  mul 
tiplied  Bessemer  plants  till  they  could  more  than  supply  the 
demand,  and  the  inevitable  law  of  competition  did  the  rest. 
This  applies  to  nearly  every  protected  industry.  When  were 
goods  of  all  kinds  cheaper  in  our  markets  than  now?  WThy  ? 
Because  production,  along  most  lines,  has  reached  a  point 
where  it  can  more  than  supply  the  demand.  So  competition 
enters  in  and  cheapens  prices. 

Another  delusion  of  free  trade  is,  that  our  industries  could 
have  been  more  cheaply  established  in  open  competition  than 
under  protective  tariffs.  This  is  untrue.  They  could  not 
have  been  established  at  all.  Several  facts  point  to  this. 
I.  England  was  compelled  to  adopt  this  very  policy  of  pro- 


THE  TARIFF.  5r5 

Active  tariffs  in  order  to  build  up  her  industries.     2.  When 
lis  had  been  done  she  saw  so  clearly  that  this  was  the  rock 
>f  her  strength,  that  she  never  permitted  her  colonies  to  adopt 
[his  policy  for  fear  they  would  supply  their  own  needs,  and  so 
the  would  lose  their  markets.     3.  Our  uniform  experience  has 
been  that  the  people,  as  a  mass,  have  prospered  under  the 
liariff  and  have  suffered  under  free  trade.     If  we  could  build 
ip  our  industries  under  free  trade,  it  would  have  been  done ; 
for  it  has  been  repeatedly  tried,  with  one  uniform  result — the 
>rostration  of  all  our  industries. 

PROTECTION:  WHAT  IT  is  AND  WHAT  IT  ACCOMPLISHES, 

A  protective  tariff  rests  on  certain  well-recognized  principles 
which  have  the  force  of  axioms.  Its  leading  objects  may  be 
stated  to  be  the  development  of  latent  wealth  by  protecting 
labor,  capital,  and  our  civilization,  as  against  the  competitions 
and  lower  civilizations  of  the  Old  World.  We  hold  that  the 
plane  to  which  we  exalt  labor,  and  the  benefits  in  comfort, 
education  and  honor  with  which  we  surround  it,  is  a  pecu 
liarity  of  our  civilization  to  which  we  attach  the  utmost  im 
portance.  It  is  universally  recognized  that  consumer  and  pro 
ducer  should  be  as  near  together  as  possible.  This  limits 
transportation,  which  is  absolute  loss.  Hence  true  economy, 
which  is  at  the  basis  of  all  wealth,  seeks  to  avoid  transporta 
tion  by  bringing  producer  and  consumer  together.  This  is 
precisely  the  aim  of  a  protective  tariff.  If  we  can  manufac 
ture  the  products  of  our  country  and  consume  them  we  save 
the  loss  of  unnecessary  transportation,  and  so  of  positive 
waste.  But  if  we  must  send  our  raw  material  abroad  for 
manufacture  we  lose  the  cost  of  transportation. 

This  may  be  clearly  illustrated.  We  once  sent  our  cotton 
to  England  to  be  manufactured.  It  received  no  absolute  value 
3° 


THE    TARIFF. 

in  the  mere  process  of  transportation.  But  when  transported 
to  England,  manufactured,  and  returned,  we  paid  several 
added  costs  :  transportation,  brokerage,  manufacture,  re-trans 
portation,  and  jobbers'  and  retailers'  profits  here.  Because  of 
this,  the  true  aim  has  been  to  condense  the  value  of  articles 
to  be  transported,  as  the  distance  they  are  sent  to  market  de- 
pjnds  on  it.  Raw  products  can  be  transformed  into  manu 
factured  products,  and  reach  farther  in  trade  than  in  the  raw 
material.  Hence  the  importance  of  manufacturing  as  well  as 
producing. 

The  best  attainable  conditions  of  prosperity  then  are  to 
utilize  all  our  labor — the  unskilled  in  producing  the  crude 
wealth  which  nature  affords,  and  the  skilled  in  giving  to  the 
crude  material  its  higher  forms  of  value,  which  fit  it  for  the 
uses  of  advanced  civilization.  And  the  closer  the  ties  of  labor 
the  less  loss  in  interchange.  But  our  difficulty  is  that  in 
other  countries,  where  skilled  labor  and  capital  are  in  excess, 
they  can,  despite  the  distance,  flood  our  markets  at  cheaper 
rates  than  we  can  at  first  produce.  Shall  we  leave  our  labor 
idle  or  our  wealth  dormant  or  only  trade  on  raw  material  ? 
If  not,  we  must  build  up  a  wall  to  keep  out  the  competing 
products.  And  for  this  as  well  as  other  reasons  we  have 
adopted  what  is  called  a  tariff.  This  is  simply  an  impost  duty 
which  levels  up  between  the  cost  of  an  article  abroad  and 
here.  It  holds  our  market  for  our  labor.  This  is  limited  to 
such  articles  as  we  produce  or  manufacture. 

This  brings  us  to  some  of  the  root  issues  in  this  discussion. 
Free  traders  say  we  should  allow  every  man  to  buy  cheapest. 
If  the  idea  were  to  benefit  the  few  this  would  be  true.  But 
our  real  problem  is  this  :  We  have  a  vast  country  of  wonder 
ful  national  wealth,  and  a  population  of  50,000,000.  Is  it  not 
to  the  common  advantage  that  we  should  do  ail  possible  to 


THE   TARIFF.  517 

produce  the  largest  returns,  not  merely  from  nature,  but  also 
from  human  skill  ?  And  as  we  produce  wealth,  do  not  all 
share  ?  Is  it  not  best  to  elevate  labor  by  opening  larger 
avenues  to  skilled  labor?  And  do  we  not,  in  all  that  we 
purchase  abroad  of  what  can  be  produced  here,  help  foreign 
at  the  expense  of  home  labor  ?  Do  we  not  further  advance 
foreign  wealth  at  the  expense  of  home  wealth  ?  And  in  so 
doing  do  we  not  benefit  others  at  our  own  expense  ? 

Free  trade  is  based  on  selfishness.  Protection  on  the 
common  good.  It  should  not  be  overlooked  in  dealing  with 
this  problem  that  wealth  is  absolute — its  diffusion  partial. 
Trade  diffuses  wealth  ;  labor  produces  it.  The  more  a  country 
has  of  wealth  the  more  each  person  in  it  is  apt  to  enjoy. '  The 
masses  of  this  country  have  more  than  was  generally  the  case 
fifty  years  ago.  We  are  generally  richer,  and  thus  wealth  is 
widely  diffused.  But  trade  does  not  so  operate.  It  is  not 
absolute  wealth — only  its  circulation.  For  what  we  get 
abroad  we  send  an  equivalent,  with  the  added  waste  of  trans 
portation.  We  merely  exchange.  And  here  a  tariff  amounts 
to  nothing  as  affecting  wealth.  Tea,  coffee,  and  quinine  have 
been  placed  on  our  free,  list,  on  the  free  trade  theory  that  it 
would  cheapen  them  to  our  people  to  make  them  free.  Pro 
tectionists  admitted  that,  as  we  did  not  produce  them,  they 
should  be  admitted  duty  free.  The  result  has  not  been  to 
cheapen  those  articles  here — it  has  only  added  to  foreign 
profits.  So  labor  is  our  great  element.  This  we  protect,  and 
in  doing  so  we  conform  to  the  philosophy  of  protecting  that 
which  produces  our  wealth.  And  it  is  labor. 

When  it  is  said  that  protection  increases  the  compensations 
of  labor,  the  answer  of  free  traders  is  that  the  workmen  of 
free  trade  Europe  fare  as  well  as  ours.  No  question  has  been 
more  exhaustively  investigated  than  this.  Secretary  Evarts, 


518  THE   TARIFF. 

when  at  the  head  of  our  State  Department,  instructed  our 
Consuls  abroad  to  carefully  ascertain  the  prices  of  labor  and 
the  cost  of  living  and  report  in  detail.  This  was  done  with 
out  collusion  or  scheming.  These  reports  were  tabulated,  and 
the  prices  of  labor  and  cost  of  living  in  this  country  compared. 
Take  England  and  the  several  continental  countries,  and  it 
was  found  that  labor  and  cost  of  living  closely  balanced.  But 
as  compared  with  this  country  the  contrast  was  amazing. 
Labor  of  all  kinds  commanded  on  the  average  about  one- 
half  what  it  did  in  this  country,  while  the  cost  of  plain  food 
was  rather  greater  there  than  here.  The  New  York  Tribun* 
followed  this  two  years  later  with  a  correspondent,  who  visited 
the  manufacturing  regions  of  Scotland,  England  and  the  con 
tinent.  He  not  only  confirmed  the  State  Department  reports, 
but  explained  that  the  small  wages  of  workers  compelled 
them  to  live  in  the  rudest  and  coarsest  manner.  Our  un 
skilled  workmen  receive  as  much  and  live  better  than  skilled 
laborers  in  Europe.  A  Belgian  glass-plate  polisher  in  Indiana, 
in  1880,  was  asked  what  were  his  wages  in  his  own  country 
for  labor  of  his  kind.  "  Sixty-five  cents  a  day,"  was  the 
answer.  How  much  here?  "Three  dollars  a  day,"  he 
promptly  replied.  These  are  facts. 

It  is,  however,  alleged  that  this  prosperity  is  offset  by  the 
increased  cost  of  living,  and  that  the  seeming  benefit  is  not 
real.  This  phase  of  the  subject  has  also  been  fully  inquired 
into.  The  contrast  between  English  and  American  workmen, 
as  to  home  life  and  comforts,  is  absolutely  startling.  In  Eng 
land  and  Scotland  whole  families — husband,  wife  and  children 
— do  manufacturing  work  of  the  hardest  kind.  They  live  in 
hovels,  and  use  coarse,  insufficient  food.  Their  lives  are 
given  to  slavish  toil  for  a  mere  pittance.  Here  the  labors  of 
the  husband  provide  home  comforts  for  his  family.  The 


THE   TARIFF.  519 

Children  attend  school.  They  receive  a  good  common  school 
education.  Abundant  and  nutritious  food  and  home  comforts 
lire  provided.  Indeed,  the  essentials  of  wealth  are  his.  He 
[las  food  to  eat,  raiment  to  wear,  and  a  home  in  which  to  live. 

[is  home  may  not  be  a  palace,  but  it  shuts  out  the  heats  of 
summer  and  the  colds  of  winter — and  is  home.  His  clothing 

lay  not  be  made  from  the  products  of  the  best  looms  of  Eu- 
Irope,  but  does  answer  the  purpose  of  the  rich  man's  finer  rai 
ment — it  covers  the  nakedness  of  the  body  and  protects 
[against  the  alternations  of  heat  and  cold.  His  food  may  not 
be  such  as  would  tempt  the  palate  of  an  epicure,  but  it  satis 
fies  hunger  and  supports  the  strength  of  the  body.  And  in 
no  land  have  the  poor — that  is,  the  workers — been  more  per 
fectly  cared  for  than  in  this  country,  when  protective  tariffs 
have  been  in  force.  And  that  it  was  our  protective  tariffs 
which  gave  these  results  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  in 
low-tariff  periods  the  results  have  been  absent.  We  have 
tested  both  sides  in  one  century. 

PROTECTION  :    WHAT   IT  HAS  ACCOMPLISHED  UNDER  THE 
REPUBLICAN   PARTY. 

Argument  rises  to  demonstration  when,  in  addition  to  facts 
already  presented,  we  show  that  the  era  of  prosperity  in  this 
country  has  been  that  of  our  present  protective  tariff" — the 
past  twenty-three  years.  The  previous  tests  were  limited  as 
to  time ;  and  while  twenty-three  years  is  not  a  long  period 
during  which  to  try  a  great  industrial  problem,  the  facts  are, 
nevertheless,  very  convincing.  These  are,  that  despite  a  de 
structive  civil  war,  which  continued  four  years,  and  involved 
nine  thousand  millions  of  property  destroyed,  and  our  whole 
industrial  system  deranged,  we  have,  all  the  same,  made 
greater  progress  in  wealth  in  the  past  two  decades  than  in  all 


$2O  THE   TARIFF. 

our  previous  history.  And  we  hold  that  while  other  causes 
may  have  contributed  to  the  result,  the  chief  element  in  it 
is  our  protective  tariff.  If  evidence  on  this  point  is  desired 
we  need  only  point  to  the  incontrovertible  fact  that  we  have 
prospered  where  our  tariff  has  protected,  and  declined  where 
it  has  not.  Our  manufacturing  industries  and  internal  com 
merce  have  been  protected,  and  our  coastwise  marine  trade. 
TJ^ese  have  prospered.  Our  foreign  commerce  and  merchant 
marine  have  not  been  protected,  and  these  have  declined. 
And  all  this  has  occurred  within  exactly  the  same  period. 
The  facts  are  undisputed.  Can  the  force  of  the  argument  be 
turned  aside  ?  It  is  demonstration. 

There  are  so  many  elements  involved  in  this  subject  that, 
in  order  not  to  burden  it  with  statistics,  we  present  a  few  only 
of  the  many : 

1.  Labor   is   more  prosperous  here  than  in  Europe.     Our 
labor  is  generally  and    regularly  employed.     In    the    tables 
compiled   by  the    State    Department    in    1878,  of  seventeen 
trades,  the  average  weekly  wages   in   England  were   $7.57; 
Scotland,  $7.22  ;  Philadelphia,  $  \  2.70  ;  Chicago,  $  1 1 .50.     The 
cost  of  thirteen  kinds  of  food  was  in  Liverpool,  $2.50;  New 
York,  $1.30;  Chicago,  $ 1. 10,  for  a  like  quantity.     In  1881,  it 
was  officially  reported  that  but  fifty-nine  per  cent,  of  Irish 
laborers  ate  meat,  and  those  but  five  ounces  a  week.     Here 
all  have  it. 

2.  All  parts  of  the  country  have  prospered.     In  1868  the 
lumber  marketed  from   Michigan  and   the   products    of  her 
mines  were  $40,000,000;  in   iSSo  they  reached  $75,000,000. 
In  1860  there  were  5,235,727  cotton  spindles  in  the  country; 
in  1868,  7,000,000  spindles  and  900,000  bales  of  cotton  were 
used  the  year  ending  September,  1868  ;  and  from  1868  to  1880 
the  increase  of  cotton  spindles  at  the  South  was  nearly  three- 


THE   TARIFF.  521 

>ld.     The  iron  product  of  Alabama  increased  792  per  cent, 
md  that  of  Georgia  245  percent,  from  1870  to  1880.     The 
iggregate  value  of  the  seven  leading  cities  of  the  Northwest 
|n  manufactures,  machine  arts  and  flouring  mills  in   1880  was 
>5  87,000,000.     California  and  Oregon  are  beginning  to  manu 
facture  iron  and  woollens.     In  the  nine  Western  States,  in 
(1850,  there  were  24,921   manufacturing  establishments,  em 
ploying  1 10,500  persons,  and  producing  $146,348,554  in  value. 
[In  1880  these  had  grown  to  124,763,  employing  755,286  per- 
Isons,  and  producing  $1,189,588,355   in  value.     Philadelphia 
is  an  essentially  manufacturing  city.     Her  vast  sums  invested 
in  industries  have  produced  comfort  and  happiness  to  a  pop 
ulation  aggregating  about  a  million.     And  New  York  is  rap 
idly  becoming  a  manufacturing  centre.     Thus  protection  has 
benefited  all  parts  of  the  country  alike. 

3.  Particular  elements  of  wealth  have  been  developed.  In 
1861  our  output  of  coal  was  sixteen  millions  of  tons;  in  1882 
it  was  ninety  million  tons — a  gain  of  462^  per  cent.  This 
means  that  the  effective  capacity  of  the  machinery  of  this 
country  to  create  wealth  is  about  six  times  as  great  as  twenty- 
one  years  ago.  Twenty  years  more  of  like  progress  and  our 
output  of  coal  will  exceed  that  of  England  or  any  other  coun 
try,  and  will  give  us  a  capacity  of  six  hundred  million  human 
beings.  In  1861  we  had  only  31,000  miles  of  railroad,  mostly 
single  track;  now  we  have  114,000  miles,  being  a  gain  in 
mileage,  under  twenty  years'  stimulus  of  a  protective  tariff,  of 
83,000  miles.  And  the  value  of  this  increase  alone  is 
$4,150,000,000.  The  gross  earnings  of  these  railroads  last 
year  was  $800,000,000,  enough  to  buy  the  entire  mercantile 
marine  of  Great  Britain.  Turning  from  particulars  to  aggre 
gates,  we  gained  in  the  net  wealth  during  the  civil  war.  As 
nearly  as  can  be  computed,  the  war  destroyed  less  by 


522  THE   TARIFF. 

$1,000,000,000  than  we  made.  During  the  panic — four  years 
— the  foreign  debt  of  the  country  was  paid.  Our  gain  during 
that  period  has  been  put  at  two  thousand  millions  a  year.  We 
gave,  in  a  previous  article,  the  items  showing  a  gain  in  wealth 
of  $5,500,000,000  last  year.  This  represents  an  earning 
capacity  of  £750  a  year  for  every  worker.  Forty-two  years 
ago  the  wealth  of  Great  Britain  was  computed  to  be  five 
times  greater  than  ours,  and  now  ours  exceeds  hers  in  the 
aggregate  by  $10,000,000,000,  though  not  equal  to  hers  per 
capita.  And  this  gain  has  been  largely  made  in  the  last 
twenty  years  under  our  protective  tariff. 

4.  Home  manufactures  and  internal    commerce  are   most 
profitable.     Foreign  commerce  is  mere  trade,  and  is  the  ex 
change,  not  the  production  of  wealth.     Industry,  in  the  form 
of  manufactures,  produces  wealth.     It  requires  a  less  number 
of  persons  to  produce  a  given  amount  of  wealth  in  industrial 
than  in  commercial  pursuits.     New  York,  with  its  surround 
ing  cities,  supports  250,000  in  industries,  and  the  product  of 
these  exceeds  her  exports  and  imports  combined,  although 
the  latter  are  designed  for  use  over  the  entire  country.     In 
other  words  her  industrial   population  produces  more  wealth 
than  her  commercial  population  handles.     And  Philadelphia 
shows  a  more  striking  contrast.     The  prosperity  of  the  coun 
try,  therefore,  is  in  its  industries  more  than  its  foreign  trade. 

5.  All  classes  share  in  our  prosperity.     The  argument  of 
free  traders  is  that  our  farmers  are  oppressed.     That  they  are 
not  is  proved  by  three  facts:      I.  They  have  a  home  market 
for  their  products.     2.  They  have    cheap   transportation  for 
their  produce.     3.  They  can  sell   in  the  dearest  markets,  as 
Liverpool.    So  they  share  in  the  general  prosperity.    We  send 
abroad  yearly  of  farmers'  products  at  least  $300,000,000.    We 
also  export  our  manufactures  in  large  quantities.    While  Eng- 


THE   TARIFF. 


523 


land's  export  trade  has  declined  ours  has  increased.  While 
the  balance  of  trade  has  been  against  her,  it  has  been  in  our 
favor.  We  have  sold  in  the  past  twenty  years  more  than  we 
bought.  This  is  a  healthy  state  of  affairs,  and  proves  our 
prosperity.  We  have  paid  our  debts.  We  have  built  as 
many  miles  of  railroad  as  has  the  entire  continent  of  Europe. 
We  have  established  splendid  manufacturing  plants.  Our 
people  have  opened  up  the  great  prairies  of  the  West  and 
North-west.  No  doubt  vast  sums  have  gone  into  plants — 
farms,  manufactories,  railroads,  school-buildings,  churches, 
public  buildings,  and  works  of  internal  improvement ;  but  all 
these  investments  will  prove  profitable  to  the  material,  intel 
lectual,  and  moral  well-being  of  the  people.  We  are  nearer 
being  free  from  debt  than  ever  before.  Our  national  debt  is 
so  reduced  that  the  rapidity  of  payment  is  annoying.  We 
have  paid  a  thousand  millions  on  it  alone.  And  yet  the  era 
of  two  decades  has  been  one  of  general  prosperity. 

What  did  it?  We  had  all  the  natural  resources  before  1861 
that  we  have  now.  We  had  population  enough  to  develop 
our  wealth.  Why  was  not  the  country  prosperous  before  ? 
All  the  inventive  skill  and  industry  we  now  have  we  had  then. 
Why  the  difference?  It  is  simply  that  of  policy.  Under  free 
trade  we  could  accomplish  nothing.  Our  industries  languished 
aud  the  people  drifted  into  poverty.  Under  protective  tariffs 
we  have  flourished.  Our  resources  have  been  developed  until 
we  gain  six  thousand  millions  a  year.  Is  not  the  lesson 
worth  heeding?  Should  we  not  continue  a  policy  which  has 
done  so  much  ?  Ought  we  not  to  keep  labor  elevated  and 
the  country  prosperous?  And  this  has  been  accomplished 
under  the  rule  of  the  Republican  party,  and  should  not  that 
party  therefore  be  'continued  in  power  that  the  policy  of  pro 
tection  may  be  continued  in  a  land  where  it  has  done  so  much  ? 


5  2 


THE    TARIFF. 


Possibly,  on  reading  this  statement  of  the  great  issue  of  the  present  campaign,  the  reader  may 
care  to  scan  the  record  of  Congress  on  the  subject.     Here  it  is  : 

VOTES  ON  GENERAL  TARIFF  ACTS,  1842  TO  1883, 
by  States,  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  on  their  final  passage. 


STATES. 

1842. 

1846. 

1857- 

«*    . 

I1 

|| 

I* 

>. 
1 

rt 

i 

^, 

- 

s^ 
ss 

3   M 

'  »A 

iJ  ^O 

1" 

«T  . 

w  vo 

>-S 
"5  " 

•—  > 

Jj 

3   " 

R 

PC 

« 

i 

*A 

£3 

SM 

2 

| 

i 

-* 

i 

>, 

.-. 

,~ 

j 

-:' 

j 

r 

j 

« 

j 

y 

>, 

r. 

8 

M 

J 

>. 

- 

IJ 
D 

> 

>. 

New  England. 
Maine 

4 

_• 

4 

5 
3 

i 
i 

6 

2 

i 
3 

4 

0 

3 

1 

3 
9 
4 
1 

ii 

'• 

\ 

1 

I 

i 

i 
2 

6 

i 
3 
9 

i 

6 

2 

... 

3 

2 

i 

? 
• 

I 

3 

3 

- 

4 
2 

•• 

4 
3 

I 

New  Hampshire. 

Massachusetts  ... 
Connecticut  
Rhode  Island  

Middle. 
New  York  

to 

6 

2 
2  ', 

i 
1 

i 
15 

9 

4 
I 

4 

- 

9 

i- 

7 

'i 

i 

7 

- 

I 

to 

2 

S 

3 

... 

X 

- 

I 

9 

•.•i 

7 

. 

8 

5 

i 
6 

2 
II 

I 

I 
3 

I 

8 

6 

•s 

2 

n 

i  . 

4 
J 

i 

4 

i 

2 
I 

• 
9 

I-' 

4 
I 

t6 

i 
'-, 

S 

1 

16 

j 

J9 

:•  ' 
-• 
4 

Pennsylvania  .... 

2    • 

I 

3 

-. 

5 

•9 

4 

' 

9 

i 

i  .; 

M-iryland 

, 

West  Virginia.... 

Western  and 
Northwestern 
Ohio 

I 

( 

ii 

S 

15 

B 

4 
3 

'. 

! 

. 
3 

3 

3 

I 
2 

• 

1 

i 

i 

6 
: 
< 

i 

-• 

1 

4 
1 

9 

^ 

2 

3 

9 

4 

- 
I 

... 

j 

12 

I 

«3 

i 

i 

1 
I 

i 

-. 

^ 
- 

| 

--. 

1 

7 
•J 

' 

3 

7 

4 

: 

Illinois 

- 

; 

Wisconsin     .    . 

- 

Minnesota  

1 

' 

I 

2 

i 
f 

... 

i 
i 

i 

I 

Missouri  

- 

. 

, 

, 

, 

, 

i 

i 

1 

T 

Nebraska   . 

Southern  and 
Southwestern 
Virginia 

I 

( 

5 

d  without  ilivision 

4 

1 
2 

I 
1 

I 

4 

6 
3 

7 

4 
4 

5 
! 

1 

7 

2 

- 

Smith  Carolina.. 
Georgia  
A'.il)..ma     

• 

i 

- 

: 

... 

.. 

... 

.. 

.. 

... 

... 

... 

i 

4 

Mississippi  

i 

Louisiana  
lex-is 

... 

... 

1 

Kentucky  

I 

I 

7 

• 

4 

f 

... 

' 

... 

- 

i 

( 

1 

I 
• 

.' 

Pacific. 
California       .... 

1 

7 

i 

Nevada 

1 

... 

I 

Total  

' 

" 

1 

ir- 

7- 

i  ... 

43 

48 

" 

13 

|f| 

,16 

:-  • 

- 

' 

3,8, 

.  ' 

J. 

•-• 

' 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

How  A  PRESIDENT  is  ELECTED— THE  ELECTORAL  COLLEGE — PARTY  PRINCI 
PLES  IN  THE  PAST. 

BEFORE  the  reader  closes  this  volume,  it  will  be  the  ex 
pression  of  a  natural  desire  if  he  should  ask,  "  How  is 
a  President  elected  ?  "  and  "  What  is  the  Record  of  the  Par 
ties?  "  And  it  would  not  round  out  the  purpose  of  this  work 
if  it  did  not  contain^just  that  information,  which  will  make  it 
a  guide-book  for  the  campaign — no  less  than  a  life-history  of 
the  coming  President  and  Vice-President.  The  information 
has  been  arranged  in  as  brief  a  form  as  possible,  consistent 
with  extreme  accuracy. 

The  citizens  of  the  United  States  do  not  vote  directly  for 
their  choice  for  President  and  Vice-President.  In  each  State 
there  exists  an  Electoral  College,  composed  of  as  many  elec 
tors  as  that  State  has  senators  and  representatives  in  Congress. 
The  voters  of  the  Union,  therefore,  vote  directly  for  the  elec 
tors  of  the  district  in  which  the  voters  reside  at  each  Presi 
dential  election.  These  electors  meet  in  convention  on  the 
first  Wednesday  in  December,  in  the  year  in  which  they  are 
appointed,  and  vote  for  a  President  and  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States.  And  though  they  are  not  by  law  bound  to 
vote  for  any  particular  person,  still  they  always  and  invariably 
do  vote — as  in  honor  bound — for  the  candidates  selected  by 
the  party  which  was  victorious  in  the  immediately  preceding 
Presidential  election.  The  electoral  college  of  each  State, 

(525) 


526  ELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

after  voting,  makes  out  three  certificates  of  the  result,  which 
are  signed  and  sealed  by  them.  Each  college  then  appoints  a 
person  to  take  charge  of  and  deliver  to  the  President  of  the 
Senate  at  Washington,  before  the  first  Wednesday  in  January, 
one  of  the  certificates.  The  second  is  sent  to  the  President 
of  the  Senate  by  mail.  The  third  is  delivered  to  the  judge  of 
the  district  in  which  the  electors  assemble.  On  the  second 
Wednesday  of  January  succeeding  the  meeting  of  the  elec 
toral  colleges  Congress — which  is  in  session  on  that  day  by 
direction  of  the  Constitution — sees  the  certificates  opened  and 
counted,  and  the  legal  result  of  the  election  for  President  and 
Vice- President  officially  declared.  The  certificates  are  opened 
by  the  President  of  the  Senate,  and  are  counted  by  him. 

The  number  of  electors  in  the  electoral  college,  which  will 
meet  in  December  next,  is  401,  and  it  will  therefore  re 
quire  a  vote  of  201  in  the  college  to  elect  a  President.  And 
from  the  large  vote  of  New  York  it  will  readily  be  compre 
hended  why  New  York  is  a  pivotal  State.  '  Based  upon  the 
present  representation  in  Congress  the  electoral  college  in 
each  State  consists  of :  Alabama,  10  electors;  Arkansas,  7; 
California,  8 ;  Colorado,  3 ;  Connecticut,  6 ;  Delaware,  3  ; 
Florida,  4;  Georgia,  12;  Illinois,  22;  Indiana,  15;  Iowa,  13; 
Kansas,  9;  Kentucky,  13;  Louisiana,  8;  Maine,  6;  Maryland, 
8;  Massachusetts,  14;  Michigan,  13;  Minnesota,  7;  Missis 
sippi,  9;  Missouri,  16;  Nebraska,  5;  Nevada,  3;  New  Hamp 
shire,  4;  New  Jersey,  9;  New  York,  36;  North  Carolina,  u; 
Ohio,  23;  Oregon,  3;  Pennsylvania,  30;  Rhode  Island,  4; 
South  Carolina,  9;  Tennessee,  12;  Texas,  13  ;  Vermont,  4; 
Virginia,  12;  West  Virginia,  6;  Wisconsin,  1 1. 

Turning  from  the  machinery  that  has  enabled  the  Republi 
can  Party  to  give  effect  to  its  long  series  of  triumphs  at  the 
polls,  let  us  look  for  a  moment  at  how  these  triumphs  were 


ELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 


527 


won  and  the  reasons  that  gave  the  Republican  party  its  birth 
and  wondrous  growth  in  the  hearts  of  the  American  people. 
"Political  parties,"  said  the  late  President  Garfield,  "like  poets, 
are  born,  not  made.  No  act  of  political  mechanics,  however 
wise,  can  manufacture  to  order  and  make  a  platform,  and  put 
a  party  on  it  which  will  live  and  flourish.  The  Democratic 
and  Republican  parties  are  examples  of  a  genuine  and  natural 
method  of  organizing  political  parties.  The  Democratic  party 
in  its  earlier  and  better  days  represented  the  genuine  aspira 
tions  and  grand  ideas  of  the  American  people,  and  no  man 
can  say  it  was  ever  manufactured  at  any  particular  time  by 
any  particular  set  of  men.  The  Republican  party  also  was  a 
growth  springing  from  the  hostility  of  the  American  people 
to  slavery,  and  they"  rallied  around  that  central  idea,  an  idea 
broad  enough  to  reach  all  the  ramifications  of  our  whole 
institutions." 

The  Republican  party  was  crystallized  into  existence  during 
the  four  years  following  the  Presidential  election  of  1852.  At 
the  outset  it  was  formed  of  the  disaffected  adherents  of  other 
parties — Native  and  Independent  Democrats,  Abolitionists 
and  Whigs — drawn  together  by  their  direct  and  intense  oppo 
sition  to  slavery.  The  first  convention  assembled  at  Philadel 
phia,  June  1 6,  1856,  and  nominated  John  C.  Fremont  for 
President  and  William  L.  Dayton  for  Vice-President.  This 
convention  of  delegates  assembled  in  pursuance  of  a  call  ad 
dressed  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  without  regard  to 
past  political  differences  or  divisions,  who  were  opposed  to 
the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise:  To  the  policy  of 
President  Pierce's  administration:  To  the  extension  of  slavery 
into  free  territory:  In  favor  of  the  admission  of  Kansas  as  a 
free  State :  Of  restoring  the  action  of  the  federal  government 
to  the  principles  of  Washington  and  Jefferson. 


528  ELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

It  adopted  a  platform,  consisting  of  a  set  of  resolutions,  the 
principal  one  of  which  was  :  "  That  we  deny  the  authority  of 
Congress,  of  a  territorial  legislature,  of  any  individual,  or  asso 
ciation  of  individuals,  to  give  legal  existence  to  slavery  in  any 
territory  of  the  United  States,  while  the  present  Constitution 
shall  be  maintained."  And  closed  with  a  resolution  :  "  That 
we  invite  the  approbation  and  co-operation  of  the  men  of  all 
parties,  however  different  from  us  in  other  respects,  in  support 
of  the  principles  herein  declared  ;  and  believing  that  the  spirit 
of  our  institutions,  as  well  as  the  Constitution  of  our  country, 
guarantees  liberty  of  conscience  and  equality  of  rights  among 
citizens,  we  oppose  all  legislation  impairing  their  security." 

The  Democratic  Convention  met  at  Cincinnati,  in  May, 
1856,  and  nominated  James  Buchanan  for  President,  and  John 
C.  Breckenridge  for  Vice-President.  It  adopted  a  platform 
which  declared  that  Congress  has  no  power  to  interfere  with 
slavery  in  the  States  and  Territories  ;  the  people  of  which  have 
the  exclusive  right  and  power  to  settle  that  question  for 
themselves.  At  the  election  which  followed,  in  November, 
the  Republican  party  found  that  Buchanan  had  been  beaten 
by  more  than  400,000  ballots  on  the  popular  vote,  and  it  then 
acted  as  if  a  victory  had  been  won,  and  prepared  at  once  to 
continue  the  contest  until  victory  was  an  actuality. 

In  1 860,  with  the  Kansas  struggle  still  a  most  heated  memory, 
the  Republicans  named  Chicago  as  a  place  of  meeting,  and  May 
1 6th  as  the  time  for  holding  their  second  national  convention. 
They  had  been  greatly  encouraged  by  the  vote  for  Fremont 
and  Dayton,  and  what  had  now  become  apparent  as  an  irre 
concilable  division  of  the  Democracy  encouraged  them  in  the 
belief  that  they  could  elect  their  candidates.  Those  of  the 
Great  West  were  especially  enthusiastic,  and  had  contributed 
freely  to  the  erection  of  an  immense  "  Wigwam,"  capable  of 


ELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  529 

holding  ten  thousand  people,  at  Chicago.  All  the  Northern 
States  were  fully  represented,  and  there  were  besides  partial 
delegations  from  Delaware,  Maryland,  Kentucky,  Missouri, 
and  Virginia,  with  occasional  delegates  from  other  slave 
States,  there  being  none,  however,  from  the  Gulf  States. 
David  Wilmot,  of  Pennsylvania,  author  of  the  Wilmot  pro 
viso,  was  made  temporary  chairman,  and  George  Ashman,  of 
Massachusetts,  permanent  President.  No  differences  were 
excited  by  the  report  of  the  committee  on  platform,  and  the 
proceedings  throughout  were  characterized  by  great  harmony, 
though  there  was  a  somewhat  sharp  contest  for  the  Presiden 
tial  nomination.  The  prominent  candidates  were  William  H. 
Seward,  of  New  York,  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  Salmon 
P.  Chase,  of  Ohio,  Simon  Cameron,  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
Edward  Bates,  of  Missouri.  There  were  three  ballots :  Mr. 
Lincoln  receiving  in  the  last  354  out  of  446  votes.  Mr. 
Seward  led  the  vote  at  the  beginning,  but  he  was  strongly  op 
posed  by  gentlemen  in  his  own  State  as  prominent  as  Horace 
Greeley  and  Thurlow  Weed,  and  his  nomination  was  thought 
to  be  inexpedient.  Lincoln's  successful  debate  with  Douglas 
was  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the  delegates,  and  every  addi 
tion  to  his  vote  so  heightened  the  enthusiasm  that  the  conven 
tion  was  finally  carried  "  off  its  feet " — the  delegations  rapidly 
changing  on  the  last  ballot.  Lincoln  had  been  a  known  can 
didate  but  a  month  or  two  before,  while  Seward's  name  had 
been  everywhere  canvassed,  and  where  opposed  in  the  Eastern 
and  Middle  States,  it  was  mainly  because  of  the  belief  that 
his  views  on  slavery  were  too  radical.  He  was  more  strongly 
favored  by  the  Abolition  branch  of  the  party  than  any  other 
candidate,  When  the  news  of  his  success  was  first  conveyed 
to  Mr.  Lincoln  he  was  sitting  in  the  office  of  the  State  Jour 
nal,  at  Springfield,  which  was  connected  by  a  telegraph  wire 


533  ELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

with  the  Wigwam.  On  the  close  of  the  third  ballot  a  de 
spatch  was  handed  Mr.  Lincoln.  He  read  it  in  silence,  and 
then  announcing  the  result,  said :  "  There  is  a  little  woman 
down  at  our  house  would  like  to  hear  this — I'll  go  down  and 
tell  her,"  and  he  started  amid  the  shouts  of  personal  admirers. 
Hannibal  Hamlin,  of  Maine,  was  nominated  for  Vice-President 
with  much  unanimity,  and  the  Chicago  Convention  closed  its 
work  in  a  single  day. 

Opposed  to  Mr.  Lincoln  were  Judge  Douglas,  his  old  op 
ponent,  nominated  by  the  regular  Democracy,  John  C.  Breck- 
inridge,  nominated  by  the  disaffected  Democrats,  who  seceded 
from  the  Douglas  Convention,  and  John  Bell,  nominated  by 
the  old  embers  of  the  American  party. 

The  principles  involved  in  the  controversy  were  briefly 
these  :  The  Republican  party  asserted  that  slavery  should  not 
be  extended  to  the  Territories ;  that  it  could  exist  only  by 
virtue  of  local  and  positive  law ;  that  freedom  was  national ; 
that  slavery  was  morally  wrong,  and  the  nation  should  at  least 
anticipate  its  gradual  extinction.  The  Douglas  wing  of  the 
Democratic  party  adhered  to  the  doctrine  of  popular  sover 
eignty,  and  claimed  that  in  its  exercise  in  the  Territories  they 
were  indifferent  whether  slavery  was  voted  up  or  down.  The 
Breckinridge  wing  of  the  Democratic  party  asserted  both  the 
moral  and  legal  right  to  hold  slaves,  and  to  carry  them  to  the 
Territories,  and  that  no  power  save  the  national  constitution 
could  prohibit  or  interfere  with  it  outside  of  State  lines.  The 
Americans  supporting  Bell  adhered  to  their  peculiar  doctrines 
touching  emigration  and  naturalization,  but  had  abandoned, 
in  most  of  the  States,  the  secrecy  and  oaths  of  the  Know- 
Nothing  order.  They  were  evasive  and  non-committal  on  the 
slavery  question. 


KI.ECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  531 

1864. 

Four  years  later  the  Republican  party  found  itself  consoli 
dated,  strong,  confident,  and  aggressive.  It  called  its  conven 
tion  to  meet  in  Baltimore,  June  7,  1864.  It  adopted  a  plat 
form  which  cordially  endorsed  Abraham  Lincoln's  discharge  of 
his  difficult  duties  ;  encouraged  immigration,  endorsed  the  pro 
posed  Pacific  Railroad,  demanded  that  the  national  faith  be 
kept  inviolate  and  thus  resolved  on  the  rebellion : 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  highest  duty  of  every  American 
citizen  to  maintain,  against  all  their  enemies,  the  integrity  of 
the  Union,  and  the  paramount  authority  of  the  Constitution 
and  laws  of  the  United  States ;  and  that,  laying  aside  all  dif 
ferences  of  political  opinions,  we  pledge  ourselves,  as  Union 
men,  animated  by  a  common  sentiment,  and  aiming  at  a 
common  object,  to  do  everything  in  our  power  to  aid  the  gov 
ernment  in  quelling,  by  force  of  arms,  the  Rebellion  now 
raging  against  its  authority,  and  in  bringing  to  the  punishment 
due  to  their  crimes  the  rebels  and  traitors  arrayed  against  it. 

Resolved,  That  we  approve  the  determination  of  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  United  States  not  to  compromise  with  rebels, 
nor  to  offer  them  any  terms  of  peace,  except  such  as  may  be 
based  upon  an  "  unconditional  surrender  "  of  their  hostility, 
and  a  return  to  their  allegiance  to  the  Constitution  and  laws 
of  the  United  States ;  and  that  we  call  upon  the  government 
to  maintain  this  position,  and  to  prosecute  the  war  with  the 
utmost  possible  vigor  to  the  complete  suppression  of  the  Re 
bellion,  in  full  reliance  upon  the  self-sacrificing  patriotism,  the 
heroic  valor,  and  the  undying  devotion  of  the  American 
people  to  the  country  and  its  free  institutions. 

Resolved,  That  as  slavery  was  the  cause,  and  now  consti 
tutes  the  strength,  of  this  Rebellion,  and  as  it  must  be  always 
and  everywhere  hostile  to  the  principles  of  republican  govern 
ment,  justice  and  the  national  safety  demand  its  utter  and 
complete  extirpation  from  the  soil  of  the  Republic ;  and  that 
31 


S32  ELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

we  uphold  and  maintain  the  acts  and  proclamations  by  which 
the  government,  in  its  own  defence,  has  aimed  a  death-blow 
at  the  gigantic  evil.  We  are  in  favor,  furthermore,  of  such  an 
amendment  to  the  Constitution,  to  be  made  by  the  people  in 
conformity  with  its  provisions,  as  shall  terminate  and  forever 
prohibit  the  existence  of  slavery  within  the  limits  or  the  juris 
diction  of  the  United  States. 

Lincoln  was  unanimously  renominated,  save  the  vote  of 
Missouri,  which  was  given  to  General  Grant.  Mr.  Ilamlia 
was  not  renominated.  The  office  of  Vice-President  wag 
tendered  by  Senator  Simon  Cameron,  at  Mr.  Lincoln's  request, 
to  Gen.  B.  F.  Butler,  but  he  declined,  and  in  deference  to 
Southern  sentiment  it  was  given  to  Andrew  Johnson,  of  Ten 
nessee.  Lincoln  received  212  electoral  votes,  against  2 1  for 
McClellan  and  Pendleton. 

1868. 

The  next  convention  assembled  at  Chicago,  May  2Oth,  1868, 
and  nominated  with  unanimity  Ulysses  S.  Grant  and  Schuyler 
Colfax.  The  platform  declared  against  all  forms  of  repudia 
tion  as  a  national  crime  ;  for  reduction  of  taxation  and  economy 
in  the  administration  ;  deplored  the  death  of  Lincoln  ;  in  favor 
of  protecting  naturalized  citizens;  encouraging  foreign  immigra 
tion  ;  and  giving  recognition  to  "  the  great  principles  laid 
down  in  the  immortal  Declaration  of  Independence,  as  the 
true  foundation  of  Democratic  government ;  and  we  hail  with 
gladness  every  effort  toward  making  these  principles  a  living 
reality  on  every  inch  of  American  soil." 

The  Democrats  nominated  Horatio  Seymour  and  Francis 
P.  Blair,  at  New  York,  in  July,  and  the  gentlemen  were 
defeated  by  an  electoral  vote  of  214  to  80.  Grant  carried 
every  State  but  eight. 


ELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  533 

1872. 

An  issue  raised  in  Missouri  gave  immediate  rise  to  t"he 
Liberal  Republican  party,  though  the  course  of  Horace 
Greeley  had  long  pointed  toward  the  organization  of  some 
thing  of  the  kind,  and  with  equal  plainness  it  pointed  to  his 
desire  to  be  its  champion  and  candidate  for  the  Presidency. 
In  1870  the  Republican  party,  then  in  control  of  the  Legisla 
ture  of  Missouri,  split  into  two  parts  on  the  question  of  the 
removal  of  the  disqualifications  imposed  upon  rebels  by  the 
State  Constitution  during  the  war.  Those  favoring  the  re 
moval  of  disabilities  were  headed  by  B.  Gratz  Brown  and 
Carl  Schurz,  and  they  called  themselves  Liberal  Republicans; 
those  opposed  were  called  and  accepted  the  name  of  Radical 
Republicans.  The  former  quickly  allied  themselves  with  the 
Democrats,  and  thus  carried  the  State,  though  Grant's  admin 
istration  "  stood  in  "  with  the  Radicals.  As  a  result  the  dis 
abilities  were  quickly  removed,  and  those  who  believed  with 
Greeley  now  sought  to  promote  a  reaction  in  Republican 
sentiment  all  over  the  country.  Greeley  was  the  recognized 
head  of  this  movement,  and  he  was  ably  aided  by  ex-Gover 
nor  Curtin  in  Pennsylvania ;  Charles  Francis  Adams,  Massa 
chusetts  ;  Judge  Trumbull,  in  Illinois ;  Reuben  E.  Fenton,  in 
New  York ;  Brown  and  Schurz,  in  Missouri,  and  in  fact  by 
leading  Republicans  in  nearly  all  of  the  States,  who  at  once 
began  to  lay  plans  to  carry  the  next  Presidential  election. 
They  charged  that  the  Enforcement  Acts  of  Congress  were 
designed  more  for  the  political  advancement  of  Grant's  ad 
herents  than  for  the  benefit  of  the  country ;  that  instead  of 
suppressing  they  were  calculated  to  promote  a  war  of  races 
in  the  South ;  that  Grant  was  seeking  the  establishment  of  a 
military  despotism,  etc. 


534  ELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

In  the  spring  of  1871  the  Liberal  Republicans  and  Dem 
ocrats  of  .Ohio  prepared  for  a  fusion,  and  after  frequent  con 
sultations  of  the  various  leaders  with  Mr.  Greeley  in  New 
York,  a  call  was  issued  from  Missouri  on  the  24th  of  January, 
1872,  for  a  National  Convention  of  the  Liberal  Republican 
party,  to  be  held  at  Cincinnati,  May  1st.  The  well-matured 
plans  of  the  leaders  were  carried  out  in  the  nomination  of 
Hon.  Horace  Greeley  for  President,  and  B.  Gratz  Brown  for 
Vice-President,  though  not  without  a  serious  struggle  over 
the  chief  nomination,  which  was  warmly  contested  by  the 
friends  of  Charles  Francis  Adams.  Indeed  he  led  in  most  of 
the  six  ballots,  but  finally  all  the  friends  of  other  candidates 
voted  for  Greeley,  and  he  received  482  to  187  for  Adams. 
Dissatisfaction  followed,  and  a  later  effort  was  made  to  substi 
tute  Adams  for  Greeley,  but  it  failed.  The  original  leaders 
now  prepared  to  capture  the  Democratic  Convention,  which 
met  at  Baltimore,  June  pth.  By  nearly  an  unanimous  vote 
it  was  induced  to  indorse  the  Cincinnati  platform,  and  it  like 
wise  finally  indorsed  Greeley  and  Brown — though  not  with 
out  many  bitter  protests.  A  few  straight-out  Democrats  met 
later  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  September  3d,  and  nominated 
Charles  O'Conor,  of  New  York,  for  President,  and  John 
Quincy  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  for  Vice-President,  and 
these  were  kept  in  the  race  to  the  end,  receiving  a  popular 
vote  of  about  30,000. 

The  regular  Republican  National  Convention  was  held  at 
Philadelphia,  June  5th.  It  renominated  President  Grant 
unanimously,  and  Henry  Wilson,  of  Massachusetts,  for  Vice- 
President,  by  364^  votes  to  321*%  for  Schuyler  Colfax,  who 
thus  shared  the  fate  of  Hannibal  Hamlin  in  his  second  can 
didacy  for  Vice-President  on  the  ticket  with  Abraham  Lin 
coln.  This  change  to  Wilson  was  to  favor  the  solid  Republi 
can  States  of  New  England,  and  to  prevent  both  candidates 
coming  from  the  West. 


ELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  535 

The  Republican  platform  declared  that  the  party  has  "  ac 
cepted,  with  grand  cqurage,  the  solemn  duties  of  the  time.  It 
suppressed  a  gigantic  rebellion,  emancipated  four  millions  of 
slaves,  decreed  the  equal  citizenship  of  all,  and  established 
universal  suffrage.  Exhibiting  unparalleled  magnanimity,  it 
criminally  punished  no  man  for  political  offences,  and  warmly 
welcomed  all  who  proved  their  loyalty  by  obeying  the  laws 
and  dealing  justly  with  their  neighbors."  The  Convention 
further  declared  in  favor  of  "  complete  liberty  and  exact 
equality  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  civil,  political  and  public 
rights;"  of  universal  peace;  of  civil  service  reform;  reduction 
of  postage  and  the  abolishing  of  the  franking  privilege ;  and 
opposed  to  "  further  grants  of  public  lands  to  corporations  and 
monopolies,"  with  a  denunciatory  clause  concerning  repudia 
tion. 

1876. 

The  troubles  in  the  South,  and  the  almost  general  overthrow 
of  the  "  carpet-bag  government,"  impressed  all  with  the  fact 
that  the  Presidential  election  of  1876  would  be  exceedingly 
close  and  exciting,  and  the  result  confirmed  this  belief.  The 
Greenbackers  were  the  first  to  meet  in  National  Convention, 
at  Indianapolis,  May  i/th.  Peter  Cooper,  of  New  York,  was 
nominated  for  President,  and  Samuel  F.  Cary,  of  Ohio,  for 
Vice-President. 

The  Republican  National  Convention  met  at  Cincinnati, 
June  I4th,  with  James  G.  Elaine  recognized  as  the  leading 
candidate.  Grant  had  been  named  for  a  third  term,  and  there 
was  a  belief  that  his  name  would  be  presented.  Such  was  the 
feeling  on  this  question  that  the  House  of  Congress  and  a  Re 
publican  State  Convention  in  Pennsylvania  had  passed  reso 
lutions  declaring  that  a  third  term  for  President  would  be  a  viola- 


ELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

tion  of  the  "  unwritten  law"  handed  down  through  the  examples 
of  Washington  and  Jackson.  His  name,  however,  was  not  then 
presented.  The  "  unit  rule"  at  this  Convention  was  for  the  first 
time  resisted,  and  by  the  friends  of  Blaine,  with  a  view  to  re 
lease  from  instructions  of  State  Conventions  some  of  his 
friends.  New  York  had  instructed  for  Conkling,  and  Pennsyl 
vania  for  Hartranft.  In  both  of  these  States  some  delegates 
had  been  chosen  by  their  respective  Congressional  districts,  in 
advance  of  any  State  action,  and  these  elections  were  as  a  rule 
confirmed  by  the  State  bodies.  Where  they  were  not,  there 
were  contests,  and  the  right  of  district  representation  was 
jeopardized  if  not  destroyed  by  the  re-enforcement  of  the  unit 
rule.  Hon.  Edw.  McPherson,  the  temporary  Chairman  of  the 
Convention,  took  the  first  opportunity  to  decide  against  the 
binding  force  of  the  unit  rule^and  to  assert  the  liberty  of  each 
delegate  to  vote  as  he  pleased.  The  Convention  sustained 
the  decision  on  an  appeal.  The  ballots  of  the  Cincinnati  Re 
publican  Convention,  1876,  were  as  follows: 


Ballols  

I 

2 

•j 

A 

5 

6 

7 

Blaine 

28  <; 

2Q6 

2Q2 

2Q7 

287 

708 

TCI 

Conkling  
Bristow  

"3 

QQ 

114 

O7 

121 

QO 

^f 

126 
84 

114 
82 

in 

81 

21 

Morton    

124 

I  2O 

Iil 

1  08 

oc 

85 

I  Inyes 

6l 

6± 

6? 

68 

1  02 

I  11 

184 

Hartranft  
Jewell 

58 
1  i 

63 

68 

71 

69 

So 

Wnshburne.  ... 
Wheeler.  . 

1 

1 

2 

3 

2 

3 

2 

4 

2 

•• 

Gen.  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  of  Ohio,  was  nominated  for 
President,  and  Hon.  Win.  A.  Wheeler,  of  New  York,  for  Vice- 
Pros  i  dent. 

The  platform  declared  among  other  things  that  "  the  United 
States  of  America  is  a  nation,  not  a  league ; "  that  the  party 
was  in  favor  of  maintaining  uninfluenced  and  unimpaired  the 


ELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  537 

national  credit;  against  government  aid  to  sectarian  schools ; 
in  favor  of  the  tariff;  in  favor  of  investigating  Chinese  immigra 
tion  ;  equal  rights  for  women ;  endorsed  the  administration 
and  thus  arraigned  the  Democracy : 

We  charge  the  Democratic  party  with  being  the  same 
in  character  and  spirit  as  when  it  sympathized  with  treason  ; 
with  making  its  control  of  the  House  of  Representatives  the 
triumph  and  opportunity  of  the  nation's  recent  foes ;  with  re 
asserting  and  applauding,  in  the  national  capital,  the  senti 
ments  of  unrepentant  rebellion  ;  with  sending  Union  soldiers 
to  the  rear,  and  promoting  Confederate  soldiers  to  the  front ; 
with  deliberately  proposing  to  repudiate  the  plighted  faith  of 
the  government ;  with  being  equally  false  and  imbecile  upon 
the  overshadowing  financial  questions ;  with  thwarting  the 
ends  of  justice  by  its  partisan  mismanagement  and  obstruction 
of  investigation ;  with  proving  itself,  through  the  period  of  its 
ascendency  in  the  lower  house  of  Congress,  utterly  incompe 
tent  to  administer  the  government ;  and  we  warn  the  country 
against  trusting  a  party  thus  alike  unworthy,  recreant,  and 
incapable. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention  met  at  St.  Louis, 
June  28th.  Great  interest  was  excited  by  the  attitude  of 
John  Kelly,  the  Tammany  leader  of  New  York,  who  was 
present  and  opposed  with  great  bitterness  the  nomination  of 
Tilden.  He  afterwards  bowed  to  the  will  of  the  majority  and 
supported  him.  Both  the  unit  and  the  two-thirds  rule  were 
observed  in  this  body,  as  they  have  long  been  by  the  Dem 
ocratic  party.  On  the  second  ballot,  Hon.  Samuel  J.  Tilden, 
of  New  York,  had  535  votes  to  203  for  all  others.  His  lead 
ing  competitor  was  Hon.  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  of  Indiana, 
who  was  nominated  for  Vice-President. 


538  ELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

1880. 

The  Republican  National  Convention  met  June  5th,  1880, 
at  Chicago,  in  the  Exposition  building,  capable  of  seating 
20,000  people.  The  excitement  in  the  ranks  of  the  Republi 
cans  was  very  high,  because  of  the  candidacy  of  General 
Grant  for  what  was  popularly  called  a  "  third  term,"  though 
not  a  third  consecutive  term.  His  three  powerful  Senatorial 
friends,  in  the  face  of  bitter  protests,  had  secured  the  instruc 
tions  of  their  respective  State  Conventions  for  Grant.  Conkling 
had  done  this  in  New  York,  Cameron  in  Pennsylvania,  Logan 
in  Illinois,  but  in  each  of  the  three  States  the  opposition  was 
so  impressive  that  no  serious  attempts  were  made  to  substi 
tute  other  delegates  for  those  which  had  previously  been  se 
lected  by  their  Congressional  districts.  As  a  result  there  was 
a  large  minority  in  the  delegations  of  these  States  opposed  to 
the  nomination  of  General  Grant,  and  the  votes  of  these  could 
only  be  controlled  by  the  enforcement  of  the  unit  rule.  Senator 
Hoar,  of  Massachusetts,  the  President  of  the  Convention,  de 
cided  against  its  enforcement,  and  as  a  result  all  of  the  delegates 
were  free  to  vote  upon  either  State  or  District  instructions,  or 
as  they  chose.  The  Convention  was  in  session  eight  days. 
The  following  were  the  ballots  : 

Ballots 123456789 

Grant 304  305  305  305  305  305  305  306  308 


Elaine 

284 

282 

282 

28l 

28l 

28l 

28l 

284 

282 

Sherman  
Edmunds.  .  .  . 

93 
74 

94 
72 

93 

72 

95 

72 

95 

95 

71 

94 

72 

91 

90 

Jl 

Washburne  
Windom  
Garfield  

30 

10 

32 

10 

i 

31 
10 
I 

31 

JO 

3i 

IO 

2 

31 
IO 

2 

31 
IO 
I 

32 
10 

32 

10 

Harrison  .  . 

i 

ELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  539 

10         II         12 


Grnnt  

•  •  •     3°5 

305 

304 

305 

309 

306 

3°3 

305 

Blaine  

....      282 

281 

283 

285 

285 

281 

283 

284 

283 

Sherman 

....       91 

62 

93 

89 

88 

88 

90 

92 

Edmunds.  .  .  . 

30 

3i 

31 

31 

31 

3* 

Washburne.  . 

22 

32 

33 

33 

35 

36 

36 

34 

35 

Windom 

10 

IO 

IO 

IO 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

Garfield  

2 

2 

i 

i 

. 

Hayes  

I 

2 

i 

i 

Davis   

i 

.  . 

McCrary.    .  .  . 

1 

•• 

•• 

•• 

•• 

Ballots.... 

...          I9 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

Grant  

•  •  •        305 

308 

305 

305 

3°4 

305 

302 

303 

306 

Blaine  

.  ...        279 

276 

276 

275 

274 

279 

281 

280 

277 

Sherman.  .  .  . 

95 

93 

96 

9S 

98 

93 

94 

93 

93 

Edmunds.  .  .  . 

31 

31 

31 

3" 

31 

31 

3" 

31 

Washburne   . 

35 

35 

35 

36 

35 

36 

36 

Windom.  .  .  . 

.  ...           IO 

IO 

10 

IO 

10 

10 

10 

10 

10 

Garfield  

i 

i 

j 

i 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

Hartranft.  .  .  . 

I 

i 

i 

i 

.  . 

.  . 

There  was  little  change  from  the  2/th  ballot  until  the  36th 
and  final  one,  which  resulted  as  follows : 

Whole  number  of  votes? 755 

Necessary  to  a  choice 378 

Grant 306 

Blaine 42 

Sherman 3 

Washburne 5 

Garfield 399 

As  shown,  General  James  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio,  was  nomi 
nated  on  the  36th  ballot,  the  forces  of  General  Grant  alone 
remaining  solid.  The  result  was  due  to  a  sudden  union  of 
the  forces  of  Blaine  and  Sherman,  it  is  believed  with  the  full 
consent  of  both,  for  both  employed  the  same  wire  leading 
from  the  same  room  in  Washington  in  telegraphing  to  their 
friends  at  Chicago.  The  object  was  to  defeat  Grant.  After 
Garfield's  nomination  there  was  a  temporary  adjournment, 
during  which  the  friends  of  the  nominee  consulted  Conkling 
and  his  leading  friends,  and  the  result  was  the  selection  of 
General  Chester  A.  Arthur  as  the  candidate  for  Vice-President. 


54°  ELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

The  campaign  was  fought  on  the  principles  contained  in  tiie 
platform,  which,  after  reiterating  the  party  history,  declared 
anew  in  favor  of  the  tariff,  against  government  aid  to  sectarian 
schools,  and  polygamy ;  against  the  Chinese,  endorsed  Mr. 
Hayes;  and  thus  spoke  on  States  Rights: 

"  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  a  supreme  law, 
and  not  a  mere  contract ;  out  of  Confederate  States  it  made  a 
sovereign  nation.  Some  powers  are  denied  to  the  nation, 
while  others  are  denied  to  States ;  but  the  boundary  between 
the  powers  delegated  and  those  reserved  is  to  be  determined 
by  the  national  and  not  by  the  State  tribunals. 

As  this  volume  is  intended  to  furnish  the  reader  with  a 
complete  political  hand-book,  no  less  than  the  histories  of  the 
illustrious  men  who  head  the  Republican  ticket,  I  subjoin  here 
some  information  of  exceeding  value. 

First  we  have  the  popular  vote  for  President  from  1824  to 
1880.  Prior  to  1824  the  electors  were  chosen  by  the  Legis 
latures  of  the  different  States. 

1824,  J.  Q.  Adams. — Had  105,321  to  155,872  for  Jackson,  44,282  for  Craw 
ford,  and  46,587  for  Clay.  Jackson  over  Adams,  50,551.  Adams  less  than  com 
bined  vote  of  others,  140,869.  Of  the  whole  vote  Adams  had  29.92  per  cent., 
Jackson  44.27,  Clay  13.23,  Crawford  13.23.  Adams  elected  by  House  of  Rep- 
re>fntatives. 

1828,  Jackson. — Had  647,231  to  509,097  for  J.  Q.  Adams.  Jackson's  ma 
jority,  138,134.  Of  the  whole  vote  Jackson  had  55.97  per  cent.,  Adams  44.03. 

1832,  Jackson. — Had  687,502  to  530,189  for  Clay,  and  33,108  for  Floyd  and 
Wirt  combined.  Jackson's  majority,  124,205.  Of  the  whole  vote  Jackson  had 
54.96  per  cent.,  Clay  42.39,  and  the  others  combined  2.65. 

1836,  Van  Buren. — Had  761,549  to  736,656,  the  combined  vote  for  Harrison, 
White,  Webster,  and  Maguin.  Van  Buren's  majority,  24,893.  Of  the  whole 
Vote  Van  Buren  had  50.83  per  cent.,  and  the  others  combined  49.17. 

1840,  Harrison. — Had  1,275,017  to  1,128,702  for  Van  Buren,  and  7,059  for 
Birncy.  Harrison's  majority,  139,256.  Of  the  whole  vote  Harrison  had  52.89 
per  cent.,  Van  Buren  46.82,  and  Birney  .29. 

1844,  Polk. — Had  1,337,243  to  1,299,068  for  Clay,  and  62,300  for  Birney. 
Polk  over  Clay  38,175.  Polk  less  than  others  combined,  24,125.  Of  the  whole 
vote  Polk  had  49.55  per  cent.,  Clay  48.14,  and  Birney  2.21. 

1848,  Tavlor. — Had   1,360,101  to   1,220,544  for  Cass,  and  291,263  for  Van 


ELECTING    A    PRESIDENT.  54! 

35uren.  Taylor  over  Cass,  139,557.  Taylor  less  than  others  combined,  151,706. 
Of  the  whole  vote  Taylor  had  47.36  per  cent.,  Cass  42.50,  and  Van  Buren  10.14. 

1852,  Pierce.— Had  1,601,474  to  1,386,578  for  Scotland  156,149  for  Hale. 
Pierce  over  all,  58,747.  Of  the  whole  vote  Pierce  had  50.90  per  cent.,  Scott 
44.10,  and  Hale  4.97. 

1856,  Buchanan. — Had  1,838,169  to  1,341,264  for  Fremont,  and  874,534  for 
Fillmore.  Buchanan  over  Fremont  496,905.  Buchanan  less  than  combined 
vote  of  others,  377,629.  Of  the  whole  vote  Buchanan  had  45.34  per  cent.,  Fre 
mont  33.09,  and  Fillmore  21.57. 

1860,  Lincoln. — Had  1,866,35210  1,375,157  for  Douglas,  845,763  for  Breck- 
inridge,  and  589,581  for  Bell.  Lincoln  over  Breckinridge,  491,195.  Lincoln 
less  than  Douglas  and  Breckinridge  combined,  354,568.  Lincoln  less  than  corn- 
Lined  vote  of  all  others,  944,149.  Of  the  whole  vote  Lincoln  had  39.91  per  cent., 
Douglas  29.40,  Breckinridge  18.08,  and  Bell  12. 6l. 

1864,  Lincoln. — Had  2,216,067  to  1,808,725  for  McClellan.  (Eleven  States 
not  voting,  viz. :  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Florida,  Georgia,  Louisiana,  Mississippi, 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Texas,  and  Virginia.)  Lincoln's 
majority,  408,342.  Of  the  whole  vote  Lincoln  had  55.06  per  cent.,  and 
McClellan  44.94. 

1868,  Grant. — Had  3,015,071  to  2,709,613  for  Seymour.  (Three  States  not 
voling,  viz. :  Mississippi,  Texas,  and  Virginia,)  Grant's  majority,  305,458.  Of 
the  whole  vote  Grant  had  52.67  per  cent.,  and  Seymour  47.33. 

1872,  Grant. — Had  3,597,070  to  2,834,079  for  Greeley,  29,408  for  O'Conor, 
and  5,608  for  Black.  Grant's  majority,  729,975.  Of  the  whole  vote  Grant  had 
55.63  per  cent.,  Greeley  43.83,  O'Conor  .15,  Biack  .09. 

1876,  Hayes. — Had  4,033,950  to  4,284,885  for  Tilden,  81,740  for  Cooper, 
9,522  for  Smith,  and  2,636  scattering.  Tilden's  majority  over  Hayes,  250,935. 
Tiiden's  majority  of  the  entire  vote  cast,  157,037.  Hayes  less  than  the  combined 
vote  of  others,  344,833.  Of  the  whole  vote  cost  Hayes  had  47.95  per  cent., 
Tilden  50.94  per  cent.,  Cooper  .97  per  cent.,  Smith  .11  per  cent.,  scattering  .03. 

1880,  Garfield. — Had  4,449,05 3 104,442,035  for  Hancock,  307,306  for  Weaver, 
and  12,576  scattering.  Garfield  over  Hancock,  7,018.  Garfield  less  than  the 
combined  vote  for  others,  313,864.  Of  the  popular  vote  Garfield  had  48.26  per 
cent.,  Hancock  48.25,  Weaver  3.33,  scattering  .13. 

Summary. — Of  the  Presidents,  Adams,  Federalist;  Polk,  Democrnt;  Taylor, 
Whig;  Buchanan,  Democrat;  Lincoln,  Republican ;  and  Garfield,  Republican, 
Hid  not,  when  elected,  receive  a  majority  of  the  popular  vote.  The  highest  per 
centage  of  popular  vote  received  by  any  President  was  55.97  for  Jackson,  Dem 
ocrat,  in  1828,  and  the  lowest  39.91  for  Lincoln,  Republican,  in  1860;  Hayes, 
Republican,  next  lowest,  with  47.95.  Hayes,  with  the  exception  of  John  Quincy 
Adams,  who  was  chosen  by  House  of  Representatives,  was  the  only  President 
ever  elected  who  did  not  have  a  majority  over  his  principal  competitor,  and 
Tilden  the  only  defeated  candidate  who  had  a  majority  over  the  President-elect, 
and  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast. 

The  votes  in  the  Electoral  College  next  attract  attention : 

The  first  college  assembled  in  1789.  Then  Washington  had  the  vote  of  all 
the  States,  viz.:  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  South  Carolina  and  Georgia ;  total 
69  votes. 


542  ELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

Adams  had  all  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  5  of  the  7  of  Connecticut, 

1  of  the  6  of  New  Jersey,  8  of  the  10  of  Pennsylvania,  5  of  the  10  of  Virginia; 
total  34. 

179},  Washington  and  Adams. — Washington  had  the  votes  of  all  the  States, 
viz. :  New  Hampshire,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Mary 
land,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and  Georgia;  total  132. 

Adams  carried  all  these  States  with  the  exception  of  New  York,  Virginia,  Ken 
tucky,  North  Carolina  and  Georgia;  total  77  votes. 

1797,  Adams  and  Jefferson. — Adams  had  the  votes  of  New  Hampshire, 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Vermont,  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Delaware,  I  of  the  15  of  Pennsylvania,  I  of  the  20  of  Virginia,  I  of  the  12  of 
North  Carolina,  and  7  of  the  II  of  Maryland;  total  71. 

Thomas  Jefferson  had  14  of  the  15  votes  of  Pennsylvania,  4  of  the  n  of 
Maryland,  20  of  the  21  of  Virginia,  Kentucky,  II  of  the  12  of  North  Carolina, 
Tennessee,  Georgia  and  South  Carolina ;  total  68. 

1801,  Jefferson  and  Burr. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  New  York,  8  of 
the  15  of  Pennsylvania,  5  of  the  10  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  8  of  the 
12  of  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  South  Carolina  and  Georgia;  total  73.  House 
decided  Jefferson  President,  and  Burr  Vice  President. 

Adams  and  Pinckney. — Had  the  votes  of  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massa 
chusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Vermont,  New  Jersey,  7  of  the  15  of  Penn 
sylvania,  Delaware,  5  of  the  10  of  Maryland,  and  4  of  the  12  of  North  Carolina; 
total  65. 

1805,  Jefferson  and  Clinton. — Had  the  votes  of  States  of  New  Hampshire, 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Vermont,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Tennessee,  Ken 
tucky  and  Ohio;  total  162. 

J'inckney  and  King. — Had  the  votes  of  States  of  Connecticut,  Delaware,  and 

2  of  the  II  of  Maryland  ;   total  14. 

1809,  Madison  and  Clinton. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Vermont,  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  9  ot  the  II  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  II  of  the 
14  of  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  Ohio; 
total  122. 

Pinckney  and  King. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  New  York,  Massachu 
setts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Delaware,  2  of  the  II  of  Maryland,  and  3  of 
the  14  of  North  Carolina;  total  47. 

1813,  Madison  and  Gerry. — Carried  Vermont,  Pennsylvania,  6  of  the  II  of 
Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Kentucky,  Ten- 
ness-^.  Ohio  and  Louisiana;  total  128. 

Clinton  and  Ingersoll. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  New  Hampshire, 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Delaware 
and  5  of  the  1 1  of  Maryland  ;  total  89. 

1817,  Monroe  and  Tompkins. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  Rhode  Inland,  Vermont,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Ohio, 
Louisiana  and  Indiana;  total  183. 

King  and  Ho-vard.— Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Massachusetts,  Con 
necticut  and  Delaware  ;  total  34. 

1821,  Alonroe  and  Tompkins. — Had  the  votes  of  every  State  in  the  Union; 
total  2V- 


i  5-f,rrt 


544  ELECTING   A    PRESIDENT. 

Adams  and  Stockton. — Adams  had  I  vote  of  the  8  of  New  Hampshire,  and 
Stockton  8  of  the  15  of  Massachusetts. 

1825,  Adams  and  Calhoitn. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Vermont,  26  of  the  36 
of  New  York,  I  of  the  3  of  Delaware,  3  of  the  1 1  of  Maryland,  2  of  the  5  of 
Louisiana,  and  I  of  the  3  of  Illinois;  total  84  for  Adams.  Calhoun  for  Vice- 
President  carried  several  States  that  Adams  did  not  carry,  and  had  a  total  of  182 
votes. 

Crawford. — Had  5  of  the  36  votes  of  New  York,  2  of  the  3  of  Delaware,  and 
I  of  the  II  of  Maryland,  Virginia  and  Georgia;  total  41. 

Jackson. — Had  I  of  the  36  votes  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  7 
of  the  1 1  of  Maryland,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Tennessee,  3  of  the  5 
of  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Alabama;  total  99. 

Clay. — Had  4  of  the  36  votes  of  New  York,  Kentucky,  Ohio  and  Missouri ; 
total  37. 

No  choice  by  the  electoral  college,  it  devolving  upon  House  of  Representa 
tives.  A  choice  was  reached  on  the  first  ballot  as  follows:  Adams — Connecticut, 
Illinois,  Kentucky,  Louisiana,  Maine,  Maryland,  Massachusetts,  Missouri,  New 
Hampshire,  New  York,  Ohio,  Rhode  Island  and  Vermont;  13  States.  Jackson 
— Alabama,  Indiana,  Missouri,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  South  Carolina  and 
Tennessee;  7  States.  Crawford — Delaware,  Georgia,  North  Carolina  and  Vir 
ginia;  4  States. 

1829,  Jackson  ana  Calhoun. — Had  I  of  the  votes  of  the  9  of  Maine,  20  of  the 
36  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  5  of  the  II  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Caro 
lina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Mississippi, 
Illinois,  Alabama  and  Missouri  ;  total  178. 

Adams  and  Rush. — Had  8  of  the  9  votes  of  Maine,  Nev/  Hampshire,  Massn- 
chusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Vermont,  16  of  the  36  of  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  Delaware,  and  6  of  the  1 1  of  Maryland  ;  total  83. 

1833,  Jackson  and  Van  Biiren. — Had  the  votes  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire, 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  3  of  the  8  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  Georgia,  Tennessee,  Ohio,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
Alabama  and  Missouri;  total  219. 

Clay  and  Sergeant. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Massachusetts,  Rhode 
Island,  Connecticut,  Delaware,  5  of  the  8  of  Maryland,  and  Kentucky;  total  49. 

1837,  Van  Buren  and  Johnson. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Illinois,  Alabama,  Missouri,  Arkansas 
and  Michigan  ;  total  170. 

Harrison  and  Granger. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Vermont,  New 
Jersey,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Kentucky,  Ohio  and  Indiana  ;  total  73. 

1841,  Harrison  and  Tyler. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Maine,  Massa 
chusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Vermont,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl 
vania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
Ohio,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Indiana  and  Michigan;  total  234. 

/",/;;  lluren. —  Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Virginia, 
South  Carolina,  Illinois,  Alabama,  Missouri  and  Arkansas;  total  60. 

1845,  Polk  and  Dallas. — Mad  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Maine,  New  Hamp 
shire,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Louisiana, 
Mississippi,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Alabama,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  and  Michigan; 
total  170. 


ELECTING   A    PRESIDENT.  545 

Clay  and  Frelinghuysen. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Rhode  Island,  Con 
necticut,  Vermont,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Maryland,  North  Carolina,  Kentucky, 
Tennessee  and  Ohio;  total  105. 

1849,  Taylor  and  Fillmore. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Vermont,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
Delaware,  Maryland,  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Louisiana 
and  Florida;  total  163. 

Cass  and  Butler. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire, 
Virginia,  South  Carolina,  Ohio,  Mississippi,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Alabama,  Mis 
souri,  Arkansas,  Michigan,  Texas,  Iowa  and  Wisconsin;  total  127. 

1853,  Pierre  and  King. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Maine,  New  Hamp- 
s1  ire,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Dela 
ware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Ohio, 
Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Alabama,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Michigan, 
Florida,  Texas,  Iowa,  Wisconsin  and  California ;  total  254. 

Scott  and  Graham. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Massachusetts,  Vermont, 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee;  total  42. 

1857,  Buchanan  and  Breckinridge. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  New 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Ala 
bama,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Florida,  Texas  and  California;  total  174. 

Fremont  and  Dayton. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Maine,  New  Hamp 
shire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Vermont,  New  York,  Ohio, 
Michigan,  Iowa  and  Wisconsin;  total  114. 

Fillmore  and  Donelson. — Had  the  votes  of  the  State  of  Maryland  ;  total  8. 

1 86 1,  Lincoln  and  Hamlin. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Vermont,  New  York, 
4  of  the  7  of  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan, 
Iowa,  Wisconsin,  California,  Minnesota  and  Oregon;  total  180. 

Breckinridge  and  Lane. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Delaware,  Maryland, 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  Ar 
kansas,  Florida  and  Texas;  total  72. 

Douglas  and  Johnson. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Missouri,  and  3  of  the 
7  of  New  Jersey;  total  12. 

Bell  and  Everett. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Virginia,  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee ;  total  39. 

1865,  Lincoln  and  Johnson. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Vermont,  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Michigan,  Wisconsin, 
Iowa,  California,  Minnesota,  Oregon,  Kansas,  West  Virginia  and  Nebraska; 
total  212. 

McClellan  and  /Vw&fe*.— Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  New  Jersey, 
Delaware,  and  Kentucky  ;  total  21. 

Eleven  States  did  not  vote,  viz.:  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Florida,  Georgia, 
Louisiana,  Mississippi,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Texas  and 
Virginia. 

1869,  Grant  and  Colfax.—llzd  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Maine,  New  Hamp 
shire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Pennsylvania,  North 
Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Alabama,  Ohio,  Tennessee,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Mis 
souri,  Arkansas,  Michigan,  Florida,  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  California,  Minnesota, 
Kansas,  West  Virginia,  Nevada  and  Nebraska;  total  214. 


546  ELECTING    A    PRESIDENT. 

Seymour  and  Blair. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Delaware,  Maryland,  Georgia,  Louisiana,  Kentucky  and  Oregon  ;  total  80. 

Three  States  did  not  vote,  viz. :  Mississippi,  Texas  and  Virginia. 

1873,  Grant  and  Wilson. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Maine,  New  Hamp 
shire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Ala 
bama,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Mississippi,  Michigan,  Florida,  Iowa,  Wisconsin, 
California,  Minnesota,  Oregon,  Kansas,  West  Virginia,  Nebraska  and  Nevada; 
total  286. 

G  reeky  and  Brcnvn. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Maryland,  Georgia,  Ken 
tucky,  Tennessee,  Missouri  and  Texas;  total  63. 

Three  electoral  votes  of  Georgia  cast  for  Greeley,  and  the  votes  of  Arkansas,  6, 
and  Louisiana,  8,  cast  for  Grant,  were  rejected. 

1877,  Hayes  and  Wheeler. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Pennsylvania,  South  Caro 
lina,  Ohio,  Louisiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Florida,  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  California, 
Minnesota,  Oregon,  Kansas,  Nevada,  Nebraska  and  Colorado;  total  185. 

Tilden  and  Ilendricks. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Connecticut,  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Georgia, 
Alabama,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Indiana,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Mississippi,  Texas 
and  West  Virginia;  total  184. 

1881,  Garfield  and  Arthur. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  I  of  the  6  of 
California,  Minnesota,  Oregon,  Kansas,  Nebraska  and  Colorado;  total  214. 

Hancock  and  English. — Had  the  votes  of  the  States  of  New  Jersey,  Delaware, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Lou 
isiana,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Mississippi,  Florida,  Texas,  5 
of  the  6  of  California,  West  Virginia  and  Nebraska;  total  155. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


FtB  £     1 

^i  ,mol» 

\5^prV^ 

DEC    6    1946 

MAY  22  1947 

r^cr/^^r^    f    D 

Rr.C  LJ  t-l-» 

APR  8     19bO 

MAY  24  1947 

APft    oo     i«jft 

9.1ay'60MJ 

Mrrt    •4,3    194Q 

KEC'D  LD 

MA/  ,  i  ^tlQfirt 

^a*'  >o    | 

-'49Ht 

REC'D  1  P 

T  l.rPjlQH  I 

|"\  f«^  X^       *«^ 

JA 

^    g  64  -i>  ^ 

; 

LD  21-100m-12,'43  (8796s) 

ID 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


